Illuminate Your Darkness
by WriteHere2FeelJoy
Summary: His face darkened,"I must kill." The proud hemomancer's encounter with the patriot mage on the Field of Justice was unexpected. Will she,the Lady of Luminosity,unveil his secrets and change him?Warning for blood,violence,and sexual contents in later chaps
1. The Crimson Reaper

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games. So DON'T SUE MEHHHH!****  
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><p><em>"The lust for blood won't go away." -"Let Us Slay" by GWAR<em>

Bloodshed. Silence. The Field of Justice.

He laughed at his dying opponent, staring down at the bloody mess she had made while attempting to stumble away from him. The burning sensation in her veins only increased as she moved.

"You won't get away alive. I will savor your suffering... before your final demise." The Cimson Reaper smiled, amused by the situation. _Nothing feeds me better than my opponent's despair_…

Pursuing his prey was even more exhilarating than tasting their life essence on the tip of his tongue.

"Evil… will never… win the battle…" the Night Hunter breathlessly spat out the words; her thoughts were unclear and her vision was blurred by the precious blood that tasted like silver. She could see the tower now, but she couldn't be sure that she would make it before he siphoned the last drop of her blood.

"Save your breath, hunter." Her dark pursuer continued, "I would rather you use it for screaming." His dark chuckle started to echo in the air as he prepared to land the final blow.

At that precise moment, a blinding light surrounded Vayne, which forced Vladmir to cover his eyes and halt his movement. Squinting from the space between his fingers he could see the wounded hunter being escorted away by a girl with golden locks, with an illuminating aura around her. As soon as the light died he charged for the hunter, but the golden girl turned around and fired a light ball towards him as it pinned his feet to the ground. When he finally released himself from the binding light, the two of them were already nowhere to be found.

He cussed lowly and slayed an innocent minion that passed by in frustration. He wondered where in the world that golden girl came from. She was nothing like the opponents he had seen before; her magic was dazzling, luminous… and annoying. Vladmir hated the light and everything related to it; the only thing that made him feel safe was the eternal darkness, and this girl clearly didn't know the meaning of true darkness.

Vladmir soon returned to the base and found his allies resting near the equipment store. The Prophet of the Void first noticed the enraged Crimson Reaper.

"Failed kill?"

Vladmir replied with a menacing glare, then went straight to the storekeeper for more enchantments.

"Hahahaha…." The Prophet laughed lightly, his little voidling mimicking the laugh with a screeching noise after him.

Meanwhile the Reaper was holding a heavy tome and contemplating the ways to extinguish Her light.


	2. The Luminous Lady

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games. So DON'T SUE MEHHHH!**

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><p>"<em>And you think that I can't see what kind of man that you are, if you are a man at all." - "Decode" by Paramore<br>_

"Thank you, Lux." The Night Hunter addressed her appreciations to the shining girl as they arrived at the safe haven, "His magic was dark and powerful. I'm afraid we must warn the others to prepare corresponding defenses." Vayne sighed in relief as she felt herself being healed by the runic energy emitting from the altar.

"Will you be alright confronting him alone in the middle?" Lux had to ask, for what she had seen on the battle field proved that this man was a ruthless opponent. A bright smile she used to mask the worries beneath.

Vayne shook her head, a lock of raven hair hanging down her face, "The tower won't hold much longer. We must stop him before he destroys it." The rest of her intentions were completed by a determined stare at her ally.

"Alright. We'll take him down!" Lux grabbed her baton and rushed into the woods with Vayne once again.

The new wave of minions had arrived the mid field, Vayne followed them cautiously while loading silver arrows into her arm set. _Silver doesn't seem to hurt this bastard that much_, she thought, _But at least it can make him uncomfortable…_

She casted a quick glance at the bushes not afar and found Lux lurking in them. Her luminous ally flashed a smile and hand gestured "Get Ready." Seconds later, the man emerged from behind the opposing tower.

Upon seeing Vayne, a despising "Hmph" escaped his throat. "You just wouldn't give up now, would you?" Vladmir easily got rid of the minions and he pushed fiercely, posing a huge threat to the tower behind Vayne.

Slowly, Vayne started to retreat; Vladmir took this to his advantage and started to harass Vayne from distance, denying her any chance of catching her breath. All she could do was to fire some arrows hoping to keep him low, and Vladmir taunted her for the vain attempts as his blood razors sliced through the arrows breaking them mid-air.

"One thing we do have in common, my dear, that we're both hunters. But who is the better one?" His tides of blood slashed Vayne's armor open as blood started oozing from the opening. He laughed as he continued his taunting.

But Vladmir was too full of himself at the moment to realize that he was standing too close to Vayne's tower.

"The time is now!" Vayne hollered as she drew out the huge crossbow from her back and started firing at Vladmir with incredible speed. It all happened too fast for Vladmir to realize that a dozen of arrows had pierced through his body, but the pain only made his thoughts clearer. He quickly retreated and prepared to unleash the hemoplague for the kill.

That was when he heard the voice saying, "For Demacia!" as he felt himself, again, pinned to the ground by streaks of light. _It's Her again! _His heart burned in hatred when he saw the golden girl: Her petite face determined, brows furrowed, and a baton in her hand charging the light fired at him.

_I'll diminish your light, _he thought as he suddenly drained her energy, surprising the girl. Vladmir laughed while savoring the taste of her on his lips.

"Your blood is what fuels me, little girl. Come closer, donations are greatly welcomed." He took the chance while Lux was distracted to land the hemoplague on both chasers. Vayne felt the last strength left in her slowly fading and so she desperately fired a giant bolt at Vladmir, successfully pinning him to the stone wall, shattering a part of it due to huge impact.

The bolt shot right through Vladmir's chest. He smiled as he felt the familiar fluid running down his pale chin. "There's your final countdown to hell, Night Hunter." His vicious deeds fulfilled as he saw the seed of plague explode in Vayne and she fell to the ground. Lux started yelling hopelessly at her dead body. He saw the rage in her eyes as she treaded her way towards him.

What surprised him was the clear fluid that ran down her cheeks as she tried to wipe them away with a gloved hand. It was her tears, a foreign thing to Vladmir; in his world, there were no tears, only blood. It was blood which spoke. Tears were for the weak.

"You are a monster," she pointed her baton at his face, the blazing light coming from it was irritating him even more than the huge bolt. "You make me sick."

He spat his blood at her, staining her baton and a part of her armor. "A monster I am. Kill me, why are you hesitating?" His dark laugher filled the gap between silence and her answer. "Can you not even kill properly as a champion of your country?"

"Killing is what murderers do. And I am not a murderer." Her voice shaking as she found herself unable to deliver the death blow. "I bring justice in the name of Demacia."

"Lux," him calling her name startled Lux, "All of you sound like you were brainwashed by your country... I wonder if you are really that devoted at heart." Vladimir smirked and saw the effectiveness of his words immediately as Lux frowned, her lips pressed together sternly.

"I'll do anything," she started to gather a powerful light beam with the baton, "Anything for Demacia!"

The last thing he felt was his body burned by a thousand suns as he sank into a pool of blood beneath her feet.


	3. Letter For the Night Wind

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games. So DON'T SUE MEHHHH!  
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><p>"<em>I do not wanna be afraid; I do not wanna die inside just to breathe in." - "Cut" by Plumb<em>

3 June, 21 CLE

_Dear Garen,_

_The Field of Justice is a very challenging place just like you told me, and I'm fighting different champions every day. Some of them possess qualities of noble warriors, while others… __are not very much so. Days ago I had fought a Noxian champion named Vladmir, the Crimson Reaper. He had the most demonic presence I've ever encountered… He smelled like blood, the atmosphere that surrounded him was almost suffocating... trust me, dear brother, I'd rather stay in the same room with Trundle than spending another minute next to Vladmir. And his eyes… those crimson eyes, they were telling murderous tales and all kinds of evil you can never imagine. _

_Yet… __I sense something beneath his cruel demeanor, something much worse. A well hidden secret of the source of his dark magic. Blood magic of Valoran I've heard... but his was far more horrid than those tales. _

_I only hope that I don't have to confront him again in the field…. I don't know, brother. Tactical decisions just vaporized facing an opponent who doesn't play by the rules... felt like he came more for the kills than a victory. _

Pausing her writing, Lux started to recall the scene happened the day when she almost had him: His blood was flowing everywhere, creating dark red rivers and pools. Impaled by Vayne's bolt, he didn't have any chance against her. She charged her Finales Funkeln and shut her eyes tight… but when she opened them once again, the man had disappeared; the bolt stuck still in the wall. A trail of blood that pointed to the nearest bushes caught her attention, and when she followed it in, there was no one… a lost feeling began to spread within her. She hurried back to the base, dying for a shower to erase the scent of his blood all over her.

She shivered at the memory, though the cool night breeze could do the same to the girl in pajamas. _Why am I thinking about him?_ She questioned herself why didn't any other champions she'd confronted leave such vivid memories. _"Never show your weaknesses to your enemies." _Her brother once said to her. _He saw me cry, oh dear Demacia. And now he would use it against me._

Even though she tried her best to influence people around her with a jolly presence, at the end of the day, the pillow became the only audience of her muffed sobbing. She hated wearing her smiling mask, but it was the only thing left in her. Programmed inside her so deeply that made her wonder, sometimes, if it was really a part of who she was.

_I have nothing left, brother. When Mother and Father sent me away, my world collapsed. The League is an escape, really. I made friends here, and met interesting people. They said that my presence gave them hope… I guess it was the least I could do._

_Hope to hear from you soon, Garen. And may the Light be with you in combat!_

_With much love,_

_Luxanna_

_P.S. Please write me soon… I really_

She stopped herself from completing the sentence. _What am I doing? This is so foolish… Garen wouldn't even cast a second glance at this.._

With that thought, it only took her seconds to crumble the paper and throw it into the night. As the wind carried away the paper shreds she crawled into her bed and wished a good night's sleep would clear up her mind.

She was wrong.

The next morning she woke up screaming from a dream; The Crimson Reaper had ripped her heart out with his clawed hand.


	4. Friend or Foe

**A/N**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games. So DON'T SUE MEHHHH!  
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><p>"<em>Take a breath, hold it in; Start a fight, you won't win." - "What Lies Beneath" by Breaking Benjamin<em>

Carefully putting back his phylactery (a beautifully crafted bottle with his crest on it), Vladmir began to wonder about the locations of "Their" phylacteries.

"They," too, were Hemomancers; they should be all dead, presumably, by now. During his most blood lusting years he had collected information on the Hemomancers of Valoran and hunted them down one by one to siphon their essence and absorb their powers- his master's legacy alone couldn't satisfy his lust for more. His never stopped hunting them, until he realized that every Hemomancer he was after always die before he paid a visit, with their phylacteries gone. Vladmir figured out that someone - it could have been another powerful Hemomancer like him - had been collecting the Hemomancers' essences for a purpose similar to his, or the exact opposite.

The name Luxanna suddenly crossed his mind; he swayed his head to cast away her image. The girl had been bothering him ever since their last encounter, in which she almost succeeded in killing him. _She should have known better than to make the Crimson Reaper an enemy_, Vladmir cussed at the thought and immediately decided to participate in a match for some fresh blood. Leaving his comfort zone, he waited for the summoner's call.

Meanwhile, Lux just finished putting on her armor as part of her morning routine. It was a fine day and she made a big stretch, feeling the sunlight smile against her skin - it always made her happy whenever communicating with the Light.

"Make me disappear," She whispered into the light, "Take me away…"

"Lady of Luminosity, you have been summoned to the Field of Justice. Please attend the champion's meeting at once." A voice coming from behind her chamber door interrupted her fantasy, Lux frowned at the call and sighed, "I'll be there soon!"

She waited until the footsteps faded away to come out to the marble halls of the Crownguard Residence. She listened to the echoes of her own heels clicking against the floor as she made her way to the Assembly.

When she arrived at the circular room with a round table placed in the center, she was surprised to find Vayne gracefully sitting on one of the chairs. The Night Hunter turned around and stood up to welcome her friend.

"Vayne!" Lux smiled at Vayne and gave her a warm hug, "You have been summoned again?"

"Seems like it," the hunter replied nonchalantly, "To be honest I am terribly tired of being summoned over and over again. Maybe I should reduce the frequency of my tumbles and give my opponents a chance…"

"Nah, you don't have to. You're doing wonderfully well, that's why the Summoners love you."

Vayne shrugged at her statement and asked, "How about you? I see the Lady of Luminosity has been very busy herself lately."

"Well…" Lux felt a sudden rush crawling up her cheeks; she didn't need a mirror to know how red they must be. "I think I'm doing okay. Trying to make Demacia proud, you know." She played with her golden locks grinning.

Just as Vayne was about to open her mouth to reply, the door flew open and a tall figure came in as both of them turned at the sound.

Lux's eyes widened at the sight of the intruder. Her fingers dropping the lock of hair she was playing with.

How could she forget his light hair, his angular face, thin pale lips, and crimson eyes? She watched in shock as he elegantly strolled in with his gait, lifting an eyebrow as he noticed their presence.

"Oh, it's you." Vladmir shifted his gaze from Lux to Vayne, and then back to fix on Lux again. "Have I interrupted anything?" His lips curved a cunning smile, to which Lux replied with a frown.

Vayne stared at him through her shades in silence, then she looked at Lux again. With a low whisper, "Excuse me," Vayne made her way through the exit (which led to a portal to the Rift) and walked away without a second glance, leaving Lux and Vladmir alone in the circular room.

"Perhaps I did." Vladmir began to chuckle as he pulled out a chair for himself to sit. "Sit, please," he pointed at the seat next to him, motioning Lux to sit down, "You know we've got plenty of time before the fun begins."

Lux had no idea what took over her, but she followed his notion anyway. She didn't look at him after being seated, all she did was staring at the smooth surface of the table.

"It's not really fun," she noticed her sudden change of tone when talking to this man, "I was summoned, so I have to be here."

Vladmir's dark laughter filled the room, "It wouldn't be a good fight if you're not willing to participate in it, darling." He opened his palms in front of her and summoned his essence, it caught Lux's attention.

"What is it?"

"It's my blood, clearly." He moved his hand closer to her, but she avoided it like anyone else would. He grinned, "The more people I kill, the stronger it becomes."

"You smell like blood," Lux turned her head away trying to find some clean air, but the heavy metallic smell lingered around her nostrils. She felt a sudden urge to vomit. "Please take it away."

To be honest, Vladmir loved torturing the girl like this, but he obeyed her will and recalled the levitating red ball. The smell disappeared, as Vladmir could tell from Lux's relaxed brows. A strange silence filled the air and neither of them talked for what seemed like ages.

Lux made the first move to break the awkward silence by asking him, "You're going to the middle lane, aren't you?" She stared at him as he contemplated, expressionless; He even looked kind of handsome. _He's…_ _oh, what am I thinking?_ Lux quickly halted her wild thoughts about the man and tried to distract herself by counting the colorful stone patterns on the table before he spoke.

"If your friend Vayne wouldn't mind, I suppose I am the best candidate for that task." He let his proud shine, "Or maybe you want to go? Would you like to show me that little thing you do with your magic?"

She replied with a mischievous look on her face, "I'll do just as well on the side lanes, just wait and see Vladmir." Without notice, she stood up with the baton in her hand, and headed towards the exit.

_Interesting_, He smiled as he followed her into the Rift.


	5. Caring

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games.  
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><p>"<em>He's a wolf, in disguise; but I can't stop staring in those evil eyes." - "Monster" by Lady Gaga<em>

She knew since she first met him that clearly there was none left in him that makes him human. He was something else, some evil being; a Monster. Lux had witnessed him dancing around the field harvesting blood from his enemies; his swift and agile movements amazed her, but later on the bloodiness of his moves just turned her stomach around.

Yet she found herself attracted to him, like the iron powder to the magnet. She tried to convince herself that it was because she wanted to decode the secrets of his magic, but deep down inside she knew that it was something else. Something caught her between Fear and Curiosity, and fighting side by side with Vladmir wouldn't make things any better.

When they had arrived at the Rift, their other teammates were already purchasing equipments and were ready to go. Vayne was the first to run into the woods in the middle, but when she arrived she found the Crimson Reaper (who teleported there) fixing his robe beneath the tower. Her face immediately turned to that of disgust.

"How's your Hemomancer hunting going, my dear?" Vladmir smiled to the hunter.

"…" Vayne took a moment before she spoke, "Good. Just one more to complete my collection."

_Collection? _Her words rang the bell in Vladmir, _Could she be the one collecting the essences? _

No longer smiling at her, Vladmir bowed politely and added, "Wish you good luck," before Vayne vanished in the woods once again.

The battle began soon. The opponents showed up in separate lanes and it surprised Vladmir when he met Malzahar and his little voidling on the mid lane.

"Greetings, my vampiric friend…" The Prophet spoke with his mystic voice, "This will be a good battle…" The little voidling raised up its feet as salutation to the Reaper.

"We shall see. I will not make it easy for you." Vladmir replied as his essence began to form in his palm.

"Nor I..." said the Prophet as their minions clashed into one another.

On the other lane, Lux was busy harassing her enemies with her light spheres as her ally Rammus tried his best to finish off wounded minions. Lux waited until their opponents ran out of mana to launch her attack plan.

"Rammus now!" she commanded as she successfully snared Shaco the Jester, her ally nodded and charged to the clown, weakening him with a few hits until Lux ended the hysterical laughter of the clown with an explosion of her light sphere.

"Come back anytime, Joker!" She smiled to Rammus, "Good job." The latter gestured an O.K. with his hand.

All her teammates felt pulses of energy flew through them as their enemies continued to fall one by one. Vladmir was impressed by Lux's performance; he never knew that her annoying lighting magic could prove so efficient in combat. _I'll show her what true power is_, He thought as he charged into the forest and made his way to her lane, _Then she'll learn to fear me the next time we fight_.

Quietly stealthed inside the bushes, Vladmir didn't make Lux aware of his presence on her lane. She continued to kill off the remaining minions with Rammus after they had repelled the enemies. They approached the tower and started demolishing it when they were suddenly ambushed by the opposite team.

Out of nowhere came Malzahar and the wounded Morgana. Lux saw Morgana (now with one bloodied wing, which Rammus had teared apart ealier) placing the black shield around herself and bounding Rammus to the dark soil beneath the tower. Their minions had died out, and so the tower started its ruthless firing towards Rammus. She called retreat but ran into the screen of silence placed by the Prophet. His little voidling, now fully grown, was fiercely chasing her and tackling her.

"Rammus no!" Her desperate voice was the last thing the Armordillo heard before the soul shackles of Morgana claimed him as a new victim. Lux knew she had to run then, but her path was blocked by a tall figure. She looked up, only to find those crimson eyes staring back at her, grinning.

"Go. I'll handle this." He was so confident that Lux almost believed in his words.

"No," she replied with a firm face and stepped aside him, "You're going to need my help. There're too many of them, they'll kill you."

"And you care?" His expression softened a bit, and his grin shrank into a smile. Before Lux could answer, Vladmir already charged at the wounded Morgana and impaled her body with the force of his essence. The Fallen Angel screamed at the massive pain before the Reaper silenced her by slicing her throat with his blood blades. Lux looked away from this brutal scene and tried to distract the Prophet with her attacks.

"Interesting being…" Malzahar said to Lux. He showed no sign of compassion or fear for the death of Morgana, as if he'd already foreseen it. "Your talents would serve the Void well… join me…join us… join the Void." Malzahar released a dark sphere that consumed Lux and her world suddenly turned black.

"_What…" She felt herself suffocated by the darkness, even her ever-glowing baton had disappeared in her hands. Then Vladmir appeared in front of her, the ball of essence floating in his hand was the only thing illuminating the atmosphere around them. _

"_Vladmir, where's Malzahar? I can't see anything…" She looked at him, surprised to find a complete foreign set of expression on his face- tenderness and care. She also noticed that his hairstyle was different, too; his usual groomed hair draped freely over his shoulders, which made him looked even more mysterious._

"_Vladmir?" She waved her gloved hand in front of him before he ceased it with his own. Lux jumped at his reaction as her heart skipped a beat._

"_Luxanna…" He whispered softly, his crimson eyes mesmerized her. She was drowning in those eyes, while the rational part of her was screaming No Do Not. Vladmir took her hand and pulled her closer to him, she gasped when her tiny body bumped into him, and his arm around her waist._

"_Vladmir what are you doing?... Please stop this…I…" She had never been so intimate with any man in her life, no, not even with her father; he had never hugged her. "Shh," Vladmir silenced her with a finger placed on her lips, "Luxanna… my Luxanna."_

"_Wha—" _

_It took her two seconds to realize that the pressure on her lips applied by his finger was replaced by his warm lips. A moment ago they were allies on the battlefield, and now Vladmir is kissing her gently in the dark; Lux believed that she must have gone mad. This must be a ridiculous dream…_

_Slowly, she gave in to his deadly kiss and closed her eyes. The girl did not know how to kiss, so she let the man took over and tried her best to feel natural. It was then that she realized she had something for him, for Vladmir._

"_Lux…" Vladmir whispered between the kisses, "I'm so sorry."_

_Before she could ask why, a sharp pain invaded her body and she opened her eyes to find Vladmir's solidified essence shot right through her chest like a rapier. A sigh escaped her throat as she collapsed into his arms._

"No!" She hollered, taking a deep breath as she broke through the black sphere. Suddenly the world returned to her- the familiar terrain of the Rift, the minions, Malzahar… and Vladmir, who was shielding her from the Prophet's attacks.

Lux realized that what she just saw was only a trick of the Prophet, attempting to fool her and weaken her powers. And yet all those weren't illusions (since she could tell if they were)… _Then what was it?_ She asked herself, but quickly returned her focus to the battle.

"Your fate shall come, Luminous One…" Malzahar laughed, "Now your turn, Reaper…"

"Not a chance," Vladmir dodged his magic by sinking into a pool of blood and travelled behind the Prophet, where he materialized again. "Feel the plague!" He planted the seed of the hemoplague into Malzahar and then started his attack combos. With each passing second Malzahar grew weaker and weaker, but his counter strikes also wounded Vladmir a lot.

Lux did her best to help Vladmir chase down Malzahar but she was very wounded and low in mana. Noticing her disadvantage, a shadowy form approached her quietly and seconds later, a Shiv buried itself deep into her fragile back. "Ahhh!" Her scream distracted Vladmir, he turned around to see the Demon Jester laughing at his dying prey- Lux fixed her helpless gaze on Vladmir before the last trace of light had dispersed from her blue eyes, and let herself fall to the ground.

"Lux!" The Reaper wanted to help her but Malzahar stunned him with his Nether Grasp. Vladmir watched in vain as Shaco drew out his Shiv from Lux and threw it towards him; it lodged into his chest and he felt her blood entering his system. Malzahar released his grasp and Vladmir fell to the ground, blood dripping from the corner of his lips and his brows furrowed from the intense pain.

"He's all yours… Shaco." said Malzahar before disappearing behind his tower. The Jester laughed deviously and looked at the two champions on the ground; Lux was barely breathing and inches away were the panting Vladmir. "Farewell, Reaper!" said Shaco as he raised the remaining Shiv in his hand for the final blow.

"Farewell, Clown." A silver arrow knocked the Shiv out of Shaco's hand and a second arrow came, which shot through his jester hat. Vayne appeared and began chasing down Shaco with her giant crossbow, she tumbled and tumbled to catch up with the blinking jester.

Meanwhile Vladmir struggled on the ground and pulled the Shiv out of his chest with a grunt, blood started to escape from his grievous wound, but he did not care. He had to siphon energy from a minion nearby to restore some portion of his strength in order to stand up.

Slowly he stood up and made his way towards Lux. She was lying on the ground, eyes shut tight and her bloodied golden hair spread everywhere. He knelt down and caught her hand in his, hoping that she'll wake, but she did not move.

Moments later, Vladmir felt the weight of her hand grew lighter and lighter until finally he watched as her entire body turned into a beam of light and ascended to the skies above.


	6. Hemomancer's Secret

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games.  
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><p>"<em>Using white lies if we have to; It's easier to forgive and forget it all tomorrow." - "I'll Follow You Tonight" by Anna Ternheim<em>

Lux hated death, she hated dying on the Field of Justice, and the worst part of it being a repeatable process.

Death was something she feared dearly. She remembered how her grandma died: One ordinary morning she went to Gran's room- the door was open, the light of the dawn covered most of the furnitures in sight and she could see the water from the fish bowl shimmering. She whispered Gran's name, Aurora, and got no response. The cherrywood bed wasn't empty, Lux could see the bump that outlined Gran's figure. She stepped closer and found Aurora sleeping, her breath steady.

"Grandma, grandma," she called softly with her childish voice, "I have to tell you something!"

Slowly Aurora Crownguard opened her beautiful blue eyes- they were very identical to Lux's - and smiled at the little girl next to her bed.

"What is it, my child?"

"I made myself disappear! Right in front of Regan!" She giggled at the memory.

Regan was one of the guards at their residence. Earlier Lux had managed to vanish under daylight and it almost gave the poor guard a heart attack- no one knew about the girl's unusual talents at the time.

"Really?" Aurora petted her granddaughter's head lovingly, "Now that's a good trick you learned pretty fast, but remember—"

"—Not to do it often, yes, grandma I remember that. But it's so fun!"

Lux watched naively as Aurora let out a long sigh, as if she was getting rid of the extra air in her body, and covered Lux's small hand with hers. That was when Lux noticed how tired her grandma looked.

"Luxanne (She was the only one who called her so), grandma will be leaving soon." Aurora closed her eyes.

"Why, where are you going? Can I follow?"

Her grandma smiled elegantly and replied, "No, sweetheart, you cannot. I'll be seeing Kalien again." Aurora's eyes opened once again and she stared at the shelf across the bed. On it were antique items she had collected during her years and a stunningly beautiful necklace with blue gems; it was the wedding gift from Lux's grandpa, Kalien Crownguard. Lux hadn't seen Aurora wearing it since grandpa passed away.

Lux's small hand clung onto Aurora's old, withered hand, her face worried. "But there is so much I haven't learned yet!" She felt sourness crawling up her nose and her eyes watery. She understood clearly what Aurora meant.

Aurora looked at her lovely golden girl and said, "You've already mastered them in your heart, my dear. I believe one day you will achieve wonders with your talents, and you must understand how much I wish that I can see that day… but your grandpa is calling me, sweetheart, please forgive me; I must go."

She leaned and kissed Lux softly on the forehead, "I love you always."

And with a smile on her face, Aurora finally shut her eyes, leaving the little girl weeping into the white sheets of her deathbed.

After grandma passed away, Lux spent weeks reminiscing things Aurora had told her, tales of her adventures, of Valoran and its city-states, of different magic and so on… Even now, as the Spawners of the League worked hard to revive her body, she thought about these memories just to keep Aurora alive in her mind.

She remembered that her grandfather, Kalien Crownguard, was a Noxian magician. Back in the days when Demacia wasn't busy fighting Noxus, it wasn't much of a surprise when a Demacian woman decided to marry a Noxian man, or vise versa. Aurora never got tired of telling Lux how she and Kalien met and fell for each other.

"It was magical, that was the only way to explain it. Before I met him, I thought Noxian men were like hungry beasts that only lusted for battles… but your grandpa was different; he was quiet, well-mannered, and more than a man I could ever ask for." Aurora would always smile whenever talking about Kalien, as if he was right beside her and never left.

However, times were different. Lux knew that she couldn't befriend a Noxian, for that would probably sentence her for treason and she would be banished from Demacia… but she thought about how Vladmir had shielded her from harm and knelt beside her during her death with her hand in his, she realized that deep inside of her heart, there was a part of her that wished that wasn't just a "comrade-thing", but a sign that proved that he could be gentle under his cruel demeanor. _Like when he kissed me…_

After seeing those visions in Malzahar's sphere, Lux's curiosity towards the Reaper grew even stronger; and she could no longer deny the fact that it wasn't about his magic, but personal now.

When the Spawners finally managed to revive her, her heart felt like sky-diving as she opened her eyes and saw Vladmir right next to her. The Reaper was chatting with the shopkeeper and seemed to be bargaining. She felt the red organism jumping inside her chest feverishly, and it seemed to be threatening to jump out of her throat when he came towards her.

"You're back," Vladmir's thin lips formed a smile, "Had fun with the Spawners? Did you know that you could actually ask them to revive you faster?"

For a moment Lux just stared at those captivating eyes, it reminded her of the kiss. She had to kill off that thought fast enough to not blush in front of him.

"No, I hate dying. And yes, I asked, guess it was hard for them to put fragments of light together again."

_Ah, fragments of light._ Vladmir had to admit that Lux's death was one of his favorite deaths in League; it was simply graceful, but what a shame there weren't blood-spilling. He couldn't help but wonder why she turns into light, perhaps it's just as complicated as him dropping dead in a pool of blood. _How ironic._

The two exchanged information on the battle and discussed about tactics.

"For the sake of this battle, I will be following you from this point on." Vladmir tossed the statement at her.

"What? No!" Lux held her baton in a defensive manner as if he had threw a bomb at her, "No, I am going with Rammus. Shouldn't you be taking care of the middle lane anyway?"

Vladmir sighed, "The Armordillo found himself a better company with your annoying friend, Vayne. And I doubt that little Yordle can do anything to help you." He began walking away from the base, "Suit yourself. Just don't let me catch you dying in a suicidal manner; if we fail this match, I'll get you for it."

"Hmph," Lux felt like she'd just been patronized by the proud Reaper, and yelled at his back, "I'd rather chow down a dozen of Teemo's poison mushrooms than laning with you!"

Pity that fate wasn't on her side. Merely a second later she saw the yordle's airy soul flew pass by.

"Sorry," Teemo confessed and shrugged, "Ganked." He went on and vanished in the pillar of light to find the Spawners.

"Oh, sweet mother of Demacia." She slapped her forehead in agony, "Fine then."

She went after the Reaper.

The battle was won in the end after countless deaths (of the opposite team) and constant quarrelling between Lux and her new lane partner. She got just as many assistance kills as Vladmir's kills, most of the time she didn't even bother to use her laser since that hot blooded Reaper would just chase till he tore the opponent into pieces.

Everyone but Vayne was celebrating the victory. The Night Hunter was particularly gloomy for an unknown reason, and requested a "little chat" with Lux after. When they were withdrew from the Rift, the champions met again at the circular hall to compare their achievements. Vladmir got the most kills and least deaths and was given a token of acknowledgement from Teemo.

"It would be an honor if you would join the yordle scout team, you were a great teammate." Said Teemo with his never dying smile.

Vladmir cringed at the statement. He cleared his throat and said:

"I… appreciate your offer…however, I have no intent to join organizations of any kind. Hmmmm, perhaps our Lady of Luminosity here would be a better candidate?" He turned to see her frowning at him yet again.

Ignoring the sly smile of Vladmir, she replied politely to Teemo, "I would love to join your team, but please understand that I have my duties in Demacia."

"Ah, we have a patriot here don't we?" The Reaper stated sarcastically.

Lux eyed him and said firmly, "Yes. I love my country very much." _Liar!_ Her inner self screamed, _You are a big liar, Luxanna Crownguard. _Trying her best to ignore these voices, she concluded, "Good job everyone, till next time we meet." then she made her way out the room to her next destination.

She quickly went to the place where she'd promised to meet Vayne: a small storage room inside the League Castle. There she found the Night Hunter leaning against a wall and waiting for her.

"What is it Vayne? You don't look that happy that we've won." The expression on Vayne's face hinted Lux that there was something wrong with her friend.

"Are you okay?" Vayne asked, concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"Shaco… killed you." Vayne's voice shook a bit.

"Oh, that," Lux smiled to her, "I'm used to it already, no big deal. Is that bothering you?"

"No, no." Vayne denied in a hurry, "I just wanted to apologize for not getting there fast enough. I was thinking that Reaper thing might keep you safe…but…" her brows furrowed when she mentioned Vladmir.

"He's not a thing… Vayne. And he did try, I was the foolish one not paying attention to my condition."

"Lux," Vayne interrupted her, "Do not trust the Reaper. Listen to me, he is not what you think he is."

"Why?" Lux knew Vayne, for sure, didn't like Vladmir that much from the beginning-she did not either-but Vayne's hostility towards the Crimson Reaper is a little bit too rash for her. _Unless_, she wondered, _They've known each other before?_

"Don't ever mention this to anyone. For years I have been hunting down people who practiced black magic and the dark arts; Hemomancers were on the top of my list. They are cruel and savage beings that would do anything for power," she took off her shades and revealed her dark eyes, "When a Hemomancer perishes, his essence remains. I haven't found any way to completely eliminate their essences, and so I've been collecting them. I kept them safe because I know if another surviving Hemomancer- like Vladmir- knew about them, he'd do anything to retrieve the essences to empower himself."

Lux's eyes widened at the revelation; she never thought that Hemomancer's powers came from devouring one another. She shivered at the thought that how many of his kind Vladmir must have killed to achieve his power level.

"So you mean… he joined the League for—"

"Information, most likely. Or maybe he thought he might find another Hemomancer to kill."

Lux went silent.

"Stay away from him, Lux. It's for your own good. What if someday he will hurt you? I'll never let that happen."

"He won't hurt me Vayne! He protected me, plus, I'm not a Hemomancer anyway." Lux didn't know why she was defending Vladmir, but she knew that the Crimson Reaper wouldn't hurt her.

"We'll see about that, but hark my warning," Vayne walked outside, "Stay vigilant." And she vanished in Lux's sight.

Bothered by her constant thoughts about Vladmir's true motives, Lux decided to find that out on her own. She hasted away to the Assembly room, hoping to find Vladmir there. She stopped outside the circular room when she heard noise inside.

"…it seems like it's true… I heard her talking with Shaco before the battle…" Lux recognized that this was the voidish voice of Malzahar. _What's he doing here?_

"I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest. But her actions were against the League's rules, and…" She felt a strange tide of warmth coating her heart when she heard Vladmir's attractive, baritone voice, "It led to casualties of her own team."

"By casualty… I presume you mean that pretty little blonde girl," The Prophet laughed, "She's quite an interesting being… if not ignorant…"

"She is not ignorant." Vladmir's volume was so loud that it echoed all the way down the hall, and it caught Lux by surprise. "I have yet to make you pay for tormenting her with your abilities."

"Oh… how touching. The Reaper has found himself a muse…" The Prophet stated sarcastically.

"Do not get me wrong, Malzahar. She's—"

Lux stormed into the room before Vladmir could finish his sentence, she simply couldn't allow this conversation about her to go on. The two men looked at her, with the look of children who got caught stealing cookies from the jar, then Malzahar cleared his throat.

"Greetings, Lady of Luminosity…We were just discussing about your performances during the battle. Shall I say that I was very impressed by your unusual talents…" He flew next to her close to the door, "Nonetheless, my offer still holds… should you change your mind and decide to serve the Void… I'll be here." After a long stare at Lux, the Prophet left.

She waited until she was sure that Malzahar had left to approach Vladmir.

Vladmir grinned at her, "Let me guess… you came for me?"

"Vladmir…" she hesitated before finally asking him, "Why did you join the League?"


	7. Shadow From the Past

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games.**

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><p>"<em>You show the lights that stop me turn to stone; You shine it when I'm alone." - "Lights" by Ellie Goulding<em>

Standing in front of the Reaper, Lux's mind felt like a ticking bomb that could explode anytime. It became worse when Vladmir took a step to close up the gap between them.

"Why did _you_ join the League?" He asked back, eyes capturing every motion of hers.

"To fight for justice in the name of Demacia, of course." Same answer she'd given before at the Judgement.

"Is it really so?" Thin lips curved into a smile.

"Hey, I asked you first. So why did you?" Lux ignored his question and pressed on.

He chuckled, "Simple. I want to prove the supremacy of my magic and I enjoy killing. Killing in the Field is less exhilarating, but still enjoyable. "

Her blue eyes showed disappointment when she heard the truth from his lips even though she thought he could be different.

_What in the world caused me to think that he had a more sensitive side? He is nothing more than a cold blooded killer. Vayne was right about him, dammit, how could I be such a fool?_

"How can you enjoy that?"

"How can you not?" Vladmir watched as Lux bit her lower lip, "Admit it, you like it. That's why you're here, and don't tell me that you joined for the honor of Demacia because it's a ridiculous reason."

"In or outside the Fields of Justice, people are just the same," He continued, "All of us joined the League for the same reason – Power. We came, seemingly representing our own city states, but what we really represent is far more than that, it's our lust for blood, for power, for vengeance… and it drove us here – An arena which only the fittest will survive."

"Not all of us joined because of that; it's not as dark as you think, Vladmir!" She had to deny him to prove herself right, she had to justify herself – by lying to herself about it.

Vladmir laughed in response, "No? Your good friend, the Night Hunter, sought to eliminate the Hemomancer she hates once and forever by shooting cold arrows behind my back. Would you like to comment on this matter?"

"No… Vayne would never do that. She's a noble warrior and she'll do anything for her team, I know her this well!"

Vladmir scoffed, "Clearly not well enough to know that she'll also do anything for blind justice."

"How can you say things like that about someone you don't even know?" Lux felt incensed that Vladmir is accusing her friend with little evidence, it made her hard to believe that a while ago she was defending for him.

"The world is more deceiving than you think it is, Luxanna Crownguard, an acquaintance of mine once taught me that. And I dare say I know the Night Hunter better than you; it was hardly surprising when I learned that she had planned to assault me."

_So that was what he and Malzahar talked about earlier… _Lux didn't want to admit Vayne would do this to Vladmir, but the truth was undeniable; Vayne wanted him dead for real, in fact, Vayne wanted_ every last one_ of Valoran's black sorcerers dead.

"_Blind vengeance is what caused the Prince his life_," Vladmir quoted from the notorious myth of Prince Sahtra, "Tell your friend, aim her arrow better next time; better yet, tell her I'll be waiting." He turned away.

"Wait," Lux halted him, the Reaper stopped and turned his head, listening, "Where are you going?"

He laughed again, "Why, of course I'll be looking for a match. When I said I enjoy killing, I meant constant killing, darling."

He held out one hand to her and asked with a devilish grin, "Care to join?"

But Lux just walked straight pass him and replied, "No, never." She managed to make herself vanish in the afternoon sunlight, eager to get away from the man she found mysterious and painfully cruel. Her constant thought about him became an annoyance that she was learning to get used to – it scared her when she realized that she was even comparing Prince Jarvan to him.

She remembered watching Prince Jarvan IV and her brother playing with wooden swords in the garden when they were young. After Aurora passed away and Garen sent to the military for training, she had no one to keep as a company aside from her brother's childhood friend. Every now and then, after Jarvan had finished with his daily affairs and studies they would sneak out, dressed like peasants in the streets of Demacia and spend the rest of the day at the marketplace.

Needless to say that she felt unusual feelings for Jarvan; through the years these feelings only grew stronger and stronger, but they never truly bloomed into anything. They had less time to spend together when Lux entered magic school and started her military trainings; even then she still thought about him, and she often asked herself how was he and where could he be…

But her admiration for Jarvan died after he was rescued from near death in the Noxian High Command. He changed so dramatically that he wouldn't even look into Lux's eyes while talking to her. He became obsessive with hunting beasts in Valoran and grew distant from all of his friends, including her. In the end, it all came to one single meeting when Lux finally asked him what went wrong, and to which Jarvan walked out on her in silence; it was the last time she talked to him.

A long time after that, Lux had no romantic interest in anyone, instead, she focused on the duties as a Crownguard and did her best to "make Demacia proud" – as she liked to call it – and accept the country she had grown willingly to love as a substitute of her parents.

She thought the constant state of war between Demacia and Noxus will never end until the League of Legends came to be, and accepted her as one of their champions. The League was the only thing that holds the fragile alliance of the two states; at least it did the job of preventing serious warfare.

The League gave her self-fulfillment, confidence, and mastery of her magic. However, with all that also came troubles: like meeting Jarvan unexpectedly on the Field and at times having to fight against him, knowing that she would avoid hurting him as best as she could… but…

None of that she could compare to the advent of Vladmir in her life, like a deep red stain on her white paper, crushing everything left in her naïve mind and showing her the true colors of this world. Though his words were harsh, she couldn't help a part of her agreeing to them.

Such brutality and beauty… when she had witnessed him engaged in a battle, she saw a part of him that she admired – his fearless and poised demeanor. _If only he wasn't just aiming for the kills, if only he was a noble warrior like…_

_Like Jarvan?_

And then she wasn't that sure anymore.

The evening sky was fading away, replaced by the typical, multicolored starry ocean that could only be seen around Demacia; the city was falling asleep to a mystical lullaby played by the unknown Muses of the forest.

Usually Lux would shut herself inside her small room and make paper art during these nights, but this time she refused to become a victim of loneliness. There were too much thoughts in her head that she needed to let out, needed to tell someone, anyone; the first person she thought of was her dearest friend, Vayne.

Luckily the Night Hunter didn't live so far away from the Crownguard Residence, Lux took her time to lie down her baton and change into her casual Demacian robe before heading to Vayne's place. When she had arrived, the wooden door of Vayne's hut opened after the third knock; The Night Hunter appeared with her long, raven hair down to the waist, shades off, but still dressed in her cloak-free battle suit – a clear sign of her vigilance.

"What in the world brought you here at this hour, Ms. Crownguard?" Her dark eyes smiled at Lux invitingly.

"I just thought that, oh well, I needed someone to talk to." Lux smiled back. She recalled what Vladmir had told her earlier about Vayne's attempted assassination, but she decided to leave that matter out of their conversation tonight.

"You are more than welcome to stay, come." Vayne locked the door after Lux and lit up an extra candle for her friend.

The room brightened and Lux immediately recognized the dusty bookshelf that contained scrolls on black magic in the corner, the primitive bed with a worn blanket, the working table (also crowded), and a cellar door that led to some secret room Lux knew not of. The candles were placed around the room in a ritual fashion that fit the atmosphere perfectly. She settled herself on her usual spot.

"Sorry if it's a bit dark, didn't know you are coming. I was reading a notebook of a warlock, the self-illuminating kind." Vayne chuckled lightly and sat down on the rug next to Lux. "So… how's everything?"

"I thought about what you told me earlier today, and… I think you're right. There's a part of Vladmir I shouldn't trust."

"A part?" Vayne's dark eyes stared at Lux, "Lux… you can't trust his entire being! He is a Hemomancer; he is _dangerous_!"

"Maybe so, but he never really hurt me."

"Lux, for the love of Demacia," Vayne sighed, "Don't tell me you forgot what happened when you first met."

No, she hadn't forgotten it. Vladmir drained her blood, weakened her, and killed Vayne. If Vayne hadn't immobilized him with that giant bolt, Lux would have been killed by him, too.

Lux shook her head silently and the two remained quiet for a moment.

"Heh," Vayne smiled helplessly, "I was once like you, so naïve and pure, thinking that this world I live in was a perfect one, as safe as it could be; thinking that there were no evil, only peace and love. I was wrong, and that was a cruel lesson branded forever in me." She lowered her head to hide her sorrow.

"Oh, Shauna…" Lux moved closer to her and gave her a heartfelt hug, Vayne hid her face in Lux's embrace. Lux remembered Vayne telling her about the past – the slaughter of her entire family by a witch. She couldn't even imagine how painful it must have been for Vayne, to suffer from the memory for the rest of her life, and to carry the burden of avenging her family.

"Lux," Vayne whispered in a trembling voice and sat back straight, holding Lux's hand in hers tightly, "You are my friend, perhaps my only friend. I always see myself as an outsider, as a lone warrior whose duty and responsibility are known to herself only; maybe that's why people repelled me. But you, you never did. You did what you could to bring happiness to those around you, and that is a spirit I truly admire."

"I… really wanted to thank you for bringing that to me. And please understand that I only wanted to help you when I said do not trust the Reaper."

"I know, Shauna, I know. And you're welcome, I cherish you as my friend, too. I'll always be here whenever you need me." Lux felt her nose souring up again as tears welled in her eyes; all these confessions Vayne made gave her a hollow feeling, as if she would wake up the next morning and find that all of this was just a dream.

"Silly, why are you crying for?" Vayne passed Lux an embroidered handkerchief to wipe her tears away, "It's not like I'm going anywhere." She smiled at her friend.

"It's just… what you said… was like…like you are saying goodbye or something." Lux tried hard to regain control of her broken, sobbing voice.

"Hey, if it happens that I really am leaving, I'd make a special party for the two of us only. I promise. But for now, let's not go that far; it's getting late and we should rest." Vayne stood up and prepared the bed for her friend. Many times Lux had insisted on sleeping on the floor but Vayne never approved, she'd always find a way to counter Lux and convince her to take the bed.

After everything had been settled, Vayne blew out most candles in the room and whispered goodnight to Lux before sleeping away. Lux couldn't sleep, and so she stared at the full moon through the window. It had been almost a month since she met the Reaper, and he was plaguing her mind the way only Jarvan could before. Still, she knew better than to trust him fully.

…But she knew Vladmir would come to her dreams tonight, and, strangely, she felt relieved at the thought of it.


	8. Caution: Might have Side Effects

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: USUAL.  
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><p><em>"Rawr Bleh Garrrrrr... Ulehhhh WAHHHHHH!" - "Uhg" by Kog&amp;Cho Duet<em>

"Oh, Lux, I'm so terribly sorry for this."

Vayne woke up in the morning, not to her usual biological alarm, but to the painful and loud sneezes of her best friend. The poor condition of her hut (or some other unknown viruses in the air) had inflicted the morning cold on Lux.

"No, it's alright! _*sneezes*_ I'll go _*sneezes*_ get some….._*sneezes*_" Lux took the tissue Vayne passed over and blew her nose as elegantly as she could, "I'll get some medicine, don't worry about it." Vayne offered her company, but Lux insisted no.

"I'm not going to risk _*sneezes* _passing it to you, oh Demacia… I'll see you soon!" She stormed out of Vayne's place and hurried to the nearest drug store in the district.

_Ugh, medicines._ She mentally rolled her eyes. Theoretically, Lux shouldn't get sick so easily – thanks to all the exercises and battling in the Field – but recently all these little pestering thoughts might have brought down her immunity; bad sleeping, bad diet, bad mood, her body had finally decided to initiate a breakdown to voice its objection.

She walked into the store and was greeted by the gloomy Zaunian storekeeper, his/its enormous body blocked almost all of the shelves behind the counter. His expression was not welcoming – if Lux could tell expressions from his one-eyed face – and continued picking his nose as if Lux didn't exist.

"Buy you wang." The keeper spoke in a low voice.

"Umm… I got a co..a – _*sneezes!*_…. So which one should I take?" Lux asked carefully after blowing her nose, as if afraid to enrage the impatient keeper.

The keeper's one eye look up and down at Lux, "You cold. You take dis. Dis bes of, craf by Singed. Zaunian proud." He moved his clumpy body a few inches to the side and removed the hand from his nose to grab a small container just below the counter. The potion looked utterly dark and suspicious through the glass barrier.

With a soft cling the keeper placed the potion on the counter. "Dis cheap. Cheap for bes, you take." It took Lux a while to fully comprehend what he was trying to say.

She lifted the potion and observed the tag placed on it, it read: _Cold Killer XIV! Salvation to All Cold! Brought to You by __Singed, The Mad Chemist__._

Yeah, not like she could ask for any better.

Lux was desperate for relief from her constant sneezing and stuffed nose. She took out some Demacian cash and took off with the potion. "Thank you!" she said before leaving.

"Gold lady com bac anydime." Said the storekeeper and resumed his nose-picking.

Once outside, Lux did not hesitate and popped open the potion. She gulped the whole thing down with one hand blocking her nose; she hated the smell and taste of medicines. Closing her eyes she tried her best not to think about the dark, slimy-feeling fluid that ran down her throat. A few seconds later she let go of her nose and gasped loudly. She looked at the cartoon Singed smiling at her on the bottle and frowned, the potion had a horrible after-taste. She tossed the empty bottle to the corner of the street, waiting for a beggar to pick up.

_Hope this really works… drug mixed by a Mad Chemist… Uh. _She would be so thankful to Singed if this stuff won't poison her to death (like how it did in the Field) and actually cure her.

She wondered if she should go back to Vayne's place, but considering her sickness she quickly made up her mind and decided to go back to her Residence. There would be no League of Legends for her today, that was for sure.

When she made her way to the garden of the Crownguard family, a familiar figure caught her attention – a lady was standing near the apple tree just below the marble steps of the residence – Lux saw the lady turned around and fixed her eyes on her. Their hair was of the same hue and their round little nose looked exactly the same too. She was a familiar stranger to Lux; her mother, Lilia.

It took Lilia a minute to recognize the young woman in distance. Her face was full of surprise and happiness when she saw her daughter. She held up a hand to wave at Lux gently, to which the nervous girl returned with a fake smile; all this felt awkward after hadn't seen her mother for a few years.

Sure, they did live under the same roof, but most of the time Lux chose the easier way for her to deal with their relationship: occupy herself with matches so she wouldn't have to see her parents.

No, she hadn't forgotten what they did to her, and she would not forgive them.

The drug began to boil inside her, the feeling made her feel nauseous and she couldn't hold up that smile anymore, she started walking. Just as Lilia tried to reach her, Lux dodged her hand and went straight into the building; she did not bother to look back at the disappointed face of her mother, even if she felt guilty about it.

Once back in her room, she locked up her door as usual and threw herself on her soft bed. Casting all her thoughts away, soon she found herself grew sleepy. Before she knew it, she had entered the dream realm… of sands?

_What? Am I asleep already? _She asked herself as she saw her room consumed by golden sands. The quick sand was breaking through her window, through the mouse hole, through the tiny cracks of the ceiling; leaking in like sea water. It all felt so real, perhaps too real for a dream.

She bounced up as soon as drops of sand began to fall on her head. She went for the door and tried to unlock it, but the door was jammed and she gasped when sand began to leak out of the key hole. She backed off and scanned the room for possible escape routes but found none, and the room was filled up by sand ever so quickly. _Uh-oh._

_If I don't survive this, then today is the worst day of my life._

…_._

_I should have talked to her._

When the sand in the room had reached her mouth, she lifted her head to take in one last breath before closing her eyes and gave in to fate.

Strangely, she felt the pressure around her body disappearing, she opened her eyes cautiously and in front of her was a bizarre scene.

Her room was nowhere to be found, she was standing in the middle of a foreign desert beneath the dark-blue sky. The sky was shimmering like the surface of the ocean, no moon nor stars could be seen. Not afar Lux spotted ruins of an unknown civilization, its broken walls and pillars seemed to greet her in their silent ways. Screeches could be heard in the air, at first Lux was unsure of its origin, but soon she found out.

In the middle of the desert, ruins, dark skies… She recognized all of them and remembered a similar description she once read, about the _Void_. She never thought such realm really existed.

The screech grew louder and louder, she turned around to find a twisted creature below her feet with a pointy head, staring at her through big yellow eyes. It scratched her robe repeatedly and she was wise enough to not make any threatening move.

Lux cussed at herself for not grabbing her baton. She was completely defenseless.

Just as she thought the creature would assault her, she heard a familiar voice calling it back.

"Stand down… my pet. It seems like we have a visitor… what a rare bird wondering in this realm, Luminous One." She watched as the little voidling returned to its master.

"Malzahar? Am I in the Void?"

"You are indeed… May I inquire just how you've managed to enter the Void?..." He petted the voidling-now twice as big -softly on its head; the creature let out a happy purr.

"Honestly I have no idea, all I remember was falling asleep and… here I am." She shrugged helplessly.

"Amusing… You never fail to impress me, Luminous Lady. This realm is reserved for what had been…and will be… No travellers shall return once they set foot here…" Malzahar flew next to Lux and watched her with his glistening eyes. "I see that your fate still remains on the same path… The inevitable demise by the hand of your acquaintance…" Malzahar chuckled deeply.

_Oh, that. _"He's not my acquaintance, of course not! And…and," she felt embarrassed as she was sure her face turned red at the memory of _that kiss_, "That was just an illusion you created, you know I could see through that, don't you?" She lied; she knew it wasn't an illusion.

"…Yet you chose to look away from your fate… It shall come one day, Luminous One; The only way to prevent it I have presented to you… My offer of the service to the Void…" His voice grew distant as he spoke.

She felt strings pulling her away from Malzahar as the landscape began to fall apart in front of her. She heard the Prophet murmur something but she could hardly make up the words, all she heard was "Farewell" "Time" and "Lux." "Wait…" She called out, but her view was blinded by a piercing light as she felt her head hit something soft.

When the light faded away, she realized that she was back in her room again, no sand, no sign of the Void or whatsoever. Everything looked perfectly normal, convincing her that what happened was just another ridiculous dream, and none of them were real…

…until she found out about the burst seams on her robe where the voidling had scratched.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile…<p>

"Sion, have you seen my box of cold killers? I thought I left them right here before I went in the laboratory."

"Uh," the giant Zaunian replied, "They shipped. You in lab. Five. Days ago. You know."

"What? No!" The Mad Chemist screamed, "God, Sion! Half of those were incomplete, and worst, I think I might have accidentally mixed some of them with the Void Vision Elixir…"

"Not problem," Sion continued his observation on the small crack on his axe, "Axe. Crack."

" – What if the consumers complain about them? Gahhhhh!..." Singed leaped around the room, worried about the future of his enterprise.

...and god bless those sick Demacians who purchased the potion.


	9. Bloodred Makeup for You

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any characters, background stories, settings…etc. Everything in this fanfic belongs to Riot games.  
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><p>"<em>Got no creed, I've got no creed, to back up my faults; <em>

_Only be, I can only be, what's been set for me." – "Maybe I'm Crazy" by Monarchy_

Like a butterfly caught inside the glass jar; that was how Lux felt when she saw the Prince unexpectedly at the Assembly.

The Lady of Luminosity had been summoned again this day, merely a day after her outlandish encounter with Malzahar, who was still trying to convert her to serve the Void. She still couldn't make up why and how she got there, but it hardly mattered to her now that she saw the ghost that had been haunting her for so long.

Jarvan IV stood quietly with the lance in one hand, he looked deep in thought, perhaps thinking about the upcoming battle. The other person in the room was the Twisted Fate, who sat on one of the chairs next to the round table and examined his deck of cards. When Lux went inside, the ripples of her heart reminded her of what had been there once – those feelings for Jarvan – yet she remained calm and tried to make conversation.

"Hey," She started, with a smile on her face, "It's been a long time, Jarvan."

"…Oh," He looked up and was surprised to see her, as if he never noticed her from the beginning, "Long time… Lux." He did not smile.

For a second neither of them knew what to say.

"So…" She tried not to let the awkward silence fill the air, "Have any idea what happened to Darkwill?"

Jarvan's face darkened, "Not a subject I would like to talk about. Not here." He turned away from her gaze.

That was when Lux knew she had stupidly gone over the line and decided to shut up. Even though she knew that nothing romantic would happen between them, she still wished for that dear friendship; but now, even that seemed undesirable.

Time slowly ticked away as her teammates started to arrive. Lux heard footsteps.

Her heart missed a beat when she saw a tall shadow behind the door.

…_Vladimir…?_

"Hey there… Ouch," said the Minotaur who found the door too small for his enormous body, the horns on his head bumped into the door frame. Disappointment was written all over Lux's face as the four of them exchanged simple greetings and sank back into tranquility.

"I guess I'm just going to…. Fix my nose ring." Alistar thought his teammates weren't happy to see him, so he figured best not to do anything inappropriate (save the stamina for later); had he been that Emo little mummy, he would have ran out and burst into tears in the restroom.

Lux felt rather spiritless, she only hoped for a good match and less summoning for the rest of the day. But whenever she thought about spending another day just adding paper cranes to her collection, she wanted something more exciting to do – like when she was sent to sneak in to the heart of Noxian High Command, eavesdropping important information and deftly moving between light and shadow… now that was the true adventure she wanted.

She was grateful that she had Aurora's adventurous genes, or else she would have just lived a boring life as an average housewife of some Demacian… Prince.

The thought of her parents might have secretly arranged her marriage with Jarvan was deeply terrifying. If it had been a few years back, she would have gladly accepted this idea; Now? Not so much.

How could she even kiss him, her husband? Just imagine his brooding face accompanying her for breakfast, lunch, and supper, day after day; his constant absence, political conflicts (though she would gladly aid him on this matter), and ignorance of what was happening to their relationship (that is, if they even had one)… She knew immediately that it wasn't the life she wanted, no.

Not to mention the royal obligation of producing an heir…

Everything she knew about sex came from those cruel days in the military, where the girls would have never-ending chatters about "those passionate nights," and when the occasional insomnia had struck her and made her conscious till morning, not missing a single moan or suppressed screams of pleasure in her barrack. She was curious then about sex and how an unforgettable experience – according to her girlfriends – it was.

But having sex with Jarvan out of obligation and not adoration was unimaginable. Not that she had never fantasized about her union with Jarvan… just that to her, embracing another body must be an act of love, nothing else.

She sighed at the thought of marrying him.

_Hmph. Thinking too much_, she said to herself, _Of things that didn't even happen yet, ha, silly._

Compared to letting her thoughts run wild, she managed to convince herself that making paper craft might yet be a better pastime.

* * *

><p>The battle had begun. Right before they left the base the Minotaur let out a fierce battle cry:<p>

"Today is a good day to die!"

The Prince frowned, "… That's my battle cry, Alistar." said Jarvan, clearly displeased by this little violation of his catchphrase.

"Right. I forgot, my apologies." Alistar scratched his horn embarrassingly before proceeding to his lane.

Jarvan and Lux exchanged a long look. Then he spoke: "Take care of yourself. I'll be around. Show no mercy to those Noxians."

"Don't worry, Jarvan," though she wasn't sure if he really was worried for her, "You know me."

_But I don't know you anymore…_

She then went for the middle lane.

The forest was quiet, she relaxed after making sure that there were no ambushes with her spheres. The final countdown had ended and the minions began to emerge, she held her baton tightly, prepared for the first encounter.

She saw the opposing minions, but her opponent wasn't there. Lux immediately became alerted and sent a signal through the psychic link to notify her teammates of a missing foe. Then she started finishing off the wounded minions.

A short minute later she saw two distant red fireflies floating midair. As they approached, however, she realized that those were no fireflies –

Those were the eyes of the Reaper.

A minion dropped beneath her feet – she had missed the last hit – but it didn't matter. She wasn't expecting him on the other team.

Her opponent, upon seeing her, grinned at her and bowed elegantly. He did not speak. Lux noticed the change of his appearance: his long hair falling down on his shoulders, and the retro costume he wore was exactly like what she had seen in Malzahar's nightmare. The sharp glove was removed and Lux could see his neatly filed nails, which she knew soon will be coated in blood.

She regained composure and smiled back at him. All the challenge set in front of her was exciting and she looked forward to this fight against him.

Throughout the match, Vladimir frequently vanished from her sight, only to be found harvesting her teammates on other lanes later. She did warn her teammates, but the Reaper's speed and tactics were impressive; he always found a way to counter them.

However, he never succeeded in killing her, nor did she him. When he had confronted her alone, she was surprised that he fought like a gentleman – an attitude that fit his appearance perfectly – it almost seemed like he did it on purpose, spinning those liquid blades rapidly around him but never too aggressively. She would attack him then, feeling that he was trampling her pride, but he would always refund his lost portion of blood from her, along with a satisfied smile. Therefore the outcome of their fights was always an eye for an eye, they were always on the equal strength and stamina level. Only in teamfights did they score assists or kills on each other.

However, as time flew by, the battle was turning in favor of Vladimir's team, and soon Lux's team would lose their last Nexus turret. The super minions were chopping through the lanes and rushing in the base. Vladimir and his teammates had charged in, prepared for one last teamfight.

"Taste my lance, Noxian! For Demacia!" Jarvan head started the fight and prioritizing Vladimir as his target.

"That which runs through you will run you through." coolly replied the Reaper while releasing the tides of blood towards his enemy. His teammates charged towards their opponents, and fell down one by one with the opposing champions.

Meanwhile Lux was recovering at their fountain; she did not hesitate to join the fight when she saw the remaining two men, Jarvan and Vladimir at each other.

It was an even match. Jarvan technically slammed his lance repeatedly towards Vladimir but the agile Reaper dodged his attacks by sinking into a pool of blood. Lux watched until she found a chance to land an unexpected stun on Vladimir; it caught him off guard as he stared at her with widened eyes.

The next moment Lux felt something warm hit the side of her cheek. She knew what it was, for she had witnessed how Jarvan took the opportunity to plunge his lance deep into Vladimir's body and then pulled it out with great force. She heard Vladimir's painful groan as he fell on one knee…

The scene made her feel hurt, as if she somehow discovered empathy with the Reaper. The blood – his blood – on the tip of Jarvan's lance had drawn a crimson line in the air before raining onto the ground, with one or two drops on her cheek.

"Mm," breathe Vladimir while holding himself in place with one hand. He grinned at Lux and her ally, "Effective teamwork… finally." His other hand disappeared in the crimson mess in front of his chest.

Jarvan walked up to him and held the lance at Vladimir's pale neck, "Say your prayers, Noxian!" to which the Reaper replied, laughing, "Kill me now, coward Prince. Save your so called last mercy; this battle shall end anytime." Vladimir casted a glance at the super minions smashing down the Nexus.

Jarvan let out a frustrated roar; he swung the lance and prepared for the last strike.

That was when Lux lost it. Impulsively. She would not let Jarvan hurt him; the match was lost, it seemed to her unnecessary to do any more killing.

Or, perhaps, she _did_ care for him.

"No, Jarvan don't!" She hollered on the top of her lungs, about to ran up to hold his lance in place.

But her words were muted by the loud explosion of their Nexus as time froze for all of them. She felt herself taken away from the Rift by an invisible force, and sent back to the room where the team had assembled. They had lost.

She saw the defeated face of her teammates and the still enraged Jarvan; it was clear he did not successfully land that last blow, and Lux was happy about it. Slowly, her team retreated back to where they belong through the portals, leaving her and Jarvan alone in the room. He took a minute to calm down before walking towards her and eyed her unbelievably.

"I cannot believe you said that." Jarvan shook his head in denial, "Tell me you didn't say that, Lux, please tell me _now_." His voice trembled a bit.

She bit her lower lip, startled – she didn't know that he heard her scream.

"Jarvan… I was…"

"Forget it," He interrupted her rudely, not willing to hear more, "None of this ever happened." He stared at her, eyes accusing her harshly; then he left her without saying goodbye.

Lux felt saddened by his reactions, she knew, better than anyone else, what she just said could cost her head if Jarvan reported it to the King, due to the strict rules of Demacia. In fact, Jarvan alone could sentence her to death for treason if he chose to.

If he saw her as a traitor.

But he didn't, he was willing to keep it secret, if not painfully.

For Demacia's sake, she was a Crownguard whose brother was the leader of the Dauntless Vanguard, the sword of the King… She could already imagine Garen's face if he had learned about this. Her misbehaviors on the Fields of Justice. Her sympathy towards a Noxian.

_What have I done? _She asked herself, as disappointing tears blurred her vision.

Suddenly, light footsteps approached her from behind. She turned around and was welcomed by the familiar smell of blood. Stood in front of her no one but the Reaper himself, with the piece of cloth on his chest torn apart and drenched in blood; the wound, however, was already healed.

"Tsk tsk," Vladimir lifted her small chin with one hand; Lux avoided his touch and lowered her head, refused to look at him. "This is the second time I've seen you cry." His lips curved a smile.

Lux stared at the ground, unmoving; she allowed the tears to drop on the floor, for she didn't know what to say.

Vladimir held up her face with both hands, forcing her to look at him. Her face was a mess with his bloodstains and tear trails, her hair tangled together – but all of it looked cute to him, the face of a defeated Lux. He thought she was crying because of her loss.

Sobbing lightly, Lux felt Vladimir's hand wiped slowly through her cheek and the bloodstain vanished beneath his fingers, leaving a light hue of red – almost like a blush – on her face. His touch sent soothing pulses to her heart as their eyes met.

"Shame," he licked the finger with his blood on it, "It's such a nice makeup for you."

She couldn't help but chuckle softly at the statement; how tactless Vladimir could be when he wanted to… he would have never guessed that she cried because of realization of what he meant to her and the frustration that came with it. She looked at him through misty eyes, with the side of her face leaning gently against his hand. His mischievous smile made her feel better somehow.

Moments later, he let go of her face and began walking away; she halted him, but before she even said anything, Vladimir uttered slowly, "You were brave to have spoken those words today, Luxanna."

"…And I appreciate you for saying them."

Then he left, disappeared behind a portal that Lux could not enter.


	10. Natural Born Killer

**A/N**

**Rating: M for this chapter, gore, homicide, and other things kids certainly wouldn't appreciate.**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff. Xuchilbara is the Red God of Silent Hill, KONAMI's stuff.**

* * *

><p>"<em>So what if you can see, the darkest side of me; No one will ever change this animal I have become." - "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace<em>

As soon as he returned to the old temple (where he called home) through the portal, Vladimir decided to cleanse himself in the river nearby.

The temple – once belonged to his master, Dmitri – was not forsaken after Dmitri had passed away; Through the years Vladimir found himself grew attached to the place and so he stayed and nested here, in the middle of the mountains. Satisfied by his quiet life.

The distant sound of the wild animals roaming in the mountains filled the air. Vladimir walked out of the old temple; the red dusk greeted the Reaper by surrounding him with the last warmth before sunset. He took in a deep breath and headed to the river.

The water was so clear that Vladimir could see the pebbles lying at the bottom, each in different shape and size, but all reflected the light hue of red from the dying Sun.

_The rivers will run red, _He mumbled to himself, drenched in the serenity of the scene.

At the end of the day, it was this red water that bathed his weary body and washed away all his troubled thoughts and her face, crying in front of him.

Slowly he removed his garments and underwear, tossing them next to the new set of clothes and a thin sheet on the ground. He stepped into the cool water; the river was deep enough to consume all of his body except for the head. Vladimir sighed in relief as he felt the water slowly ran through his bloodstained skin, cooling him down.

He watched as the red trophies dissolved into the stream, leaving a snakelike trail behind. Soon after he dove his head in and opened his crimson eyes underwater: He saw the red mist that originated from his light gold hair fading away with the flow of the water. Although he was holding his breath, Vladimir could still imagine and "smell" the blood in the stream – Metallic and exhilarating – he felt the urge to take a sip. The hunger was driving him crazy, but he had to stop himself.

Throwing his head back to the surface, he gasped deeply with eyes shut tight. His need burned like fire inside him; he needed it, _so much_.

"Are you alright?" Came a soft voice behind him. Vladimir turned around abruptly and caught the intruder right in the eyes.

It was a young girl, standing just above him next to the river, her expression worried. "I thought you can't swim, and the blood…" He could see her eyes, fascinated, wondering around his neck, where the edges of his collar bone were barely visible.

"I appreciate you for your concern, I am fine." The dusk gave the girl a sanguine silhouette which tempted his already agitated heart. He feared giving in, but he had to give in. It overpowered him like it always had.

The girl smiled, a lock of brown hair fell from her shoulder. "You are… welcome." Her face turned pink at the situation, she did not notice the gloomy face of Vladimir, nor did she know about the dark tides that roamed inside him.

"Would you like to join me? That is presuming you are not occupied at the moment." Vladimir grinned at her and carefully set up his trap. He wondered how the girl even got here – Judging from her accent, he was sure that she wasn't from Noxus – Perhaps she was one of the homeless scavengers that happened to pass by; just like all who did before her.

The girl's eyes widened at his response, she lowered her head shyly and stared at the handsome stranger. He was sure that the petite lady would be cool with it, considering what he had to offer wasn't something to be seen just everywhere. He knew he had the charm.

As expected, she nodded gently and, without taking her ragged clothes off, stepped into the stream and was seized by Vladimir's strong arms. She gasped in surprise, but soon her giggling replaced it.

"I'm not exceptionally good at this…" she breathed.

Vladimir felt her pressing herself onto his naked body and held her tighter in response; the girl squirmed and watched him with those dazed eyes. She offered him her rosy lips and closed her eyes, but he did not kiss them. The time had come.

"Oh worry not…" He whispered into her ear, tickling her with his warm breath, "I will take care of everything."

He felt her body relaxed and did not hesitate.

Immediately he pushed her down to the bottom of the river. Her eyes that snapped open spoke of terror and realization, her limbs struggled to get Vladimir off her but all of her efforts were in vain. He was much stronger, and she had already wasted too much oxygen yelping in bubbles.

The next thing she saw was a bright red element floating around him. It radiated dark red beams underwater and colored the stream. Suddenly she found the element wrapped around her neck like a snake, threatening to choke whatever was left in her lungs out. But she did not know that her pain had yet to come.

The Hemomancer chanted an unknown spell underwater and the girl began to convulse. The familiar smell filled the atmosphere around them as blood began leaking out of every pore of her body. The girl was still screaming, but the bubbles came out misty red this time as the water around her soon turned into a suffocating fog of blood. The fluid of life was escaping her body ever so quickly, and he had never felt so good before. His essence absorbed all that it could greedily.

Finally, the blood bubbles came to a halt and the body beneath him stopped its resistance. He felt the water around him warmed up by her blood and he savored every sensation brought to him while it lasted; it was empowering him and sating his hunger. When he was done, he stood up and let out a satisfied sigh.

Dusk was replaced by the twilight; dark clouds began consuming the rest of the dim blue sky. The river carried away what was left of her blood as the water around him became clear once more. He was still holding onto the pale body beneath him, but when he looked again he noticed that her hair color was different.

It was golden; the kind of gold that only belonged to _Her_.

…And those lifeless blue eyes.

Immediately he looked away from it, when he returned his gaze, everything was normal again; the body was still the unnamed stranger.

But what he saw was so real that for a moment he thought he had killed _Her_, and he found himself disgusted by the thought.

Rising up from the river, he reached for the sheet and dried the waterdrops that ran down his bare chest. He put on his linen underwear and the clean clothes swiftly and looked back at the body that lay still underwater.

Usually he would dispose them in the mountain for the beasts to feast on, but this time he didn't want to do so.

Once in a very long time, he felt remorse for killing.

He retrieved her body from the river and carried it back to his nest. As soon as he arrived, Vladimir went into the basement and managed to pull out a rusted shovel. He decided to bury her.

After the ritual was done, he stood in silence in front of the fresh grave and wondered about the identity of this girl.

_Where was she from?_

_How did she get here?_

_... _

_She was probably around the same age as Her. _

He couldn't help but think about Luxanna, perhaps it was because he couldn't relate to anyone else; a young, naïve girl that haunted his conscience.

"Vladimir," a familiar voice called, distant and hollow.

"Vladimir." It called again.

"Vladimir…" He watched as form began to appear across him; _At last_, he thought, _It had been a long time since I met you_.

"Dmitri, it is you."

His long dead master smiled at him, a ghostly aura surrounded Dmitri's form. He looked exactly like when Vladimir had killed him, with the monk robe and head hidden beneath the large hood.

"It is I, my apprentice." The ghost echoed.

"You are dead." Vladimir began to wonder if he was indeed seeing things; first Lux, than Dmitri.

"I will never die," Dmitri laughed, "I am always a part of you, Vladimir."

"You are in my blood." Vladimir gazed at his master.

"I am in your blood," replied Dmitri while taking his hood off, revealing his surprisingly young face; the face identical to Vladimir's, but his voice remained deep and powerful. "I am you."

Vladimir, shocked by the sight, slowly began, "…What do you want?"

"You have grown weak, apprentice," Dmitri paced near the ground around the grave, "I am here to see that you return to the right track." He grinned.

"I am not weak," Vladimir glared at the ghost, "I have mastered the art of blood; _Our_ art of blood."

"Nay, you have not."

With each passing second, Vladimir found Dmitri's presence more disturbing; It felt like talking to his very own doppelganger.

Dmitri continued, "Weeds of compassion have rooted in your heart, Vladimir. You are no Reaper; You are meek."

"I am not!" Vladimir hissed, "I have killed. Hundreds, thousands!"

"Twas because you have to." Dmitri shook his head gently, "You have lost the zeal that I admired when we first met. Now you let a flock of ridiculous fools seize control over you, how pathetic."

"Heh," Vladimit scoffed, "Being in the League of Legends is merely for convenience."

"You cannot lie to me, Vladimir, for I am you. I see what you are, I know what you want." Dmitri looked down at the grave and laughed, "You seemed to be fond of little girls these days, aren't you?"

Vladimir looked at his master – or his mirror image – dead in the eyes and did not speak. A wide grin bloomed from the corner of his lips as he confessed, "She was delicious, but since you are within me you would've already known that, Dmitri."

"She was, quite," His master looked deep in thought, "But she cannot compare to, shall I say, the blood of a spell caster… which I found absent from your diet."

"I have had many recently, mind you. Cho'gath wasn't exactly delectable, but…"

"I meant the blood of a particular spell caster, Vladimir. You know well whom I speak of."

_Lux._ His thoughts came back to the Crownguard, the brave Demacian who he had fought with and against on several occasions. Her blood tasted no different from the average mages – yet he couldn't help but wanting more.

"Do not feel sorry for what you are designed to do, my apprentice. The world is crawling with lowly beings that need to be purged; and you, you are the harbinger of death. Your killing instinct directly inherited from the dark masters of Hemomancy themselves…"

"You are, the Crimson Reaper… Vladimir." Dmitri's form began to disappear.

Vladimir smiled at the flashback.

He remembered that his parents were in service of the Noxian High Command, involved in some sort of secret project he knew not of. They often performed morbid rituals on his older sister, Ania, such as binding her to the chair and bloodletting her for a day. They never touched nor cared about Vladimir, as if Ania was the only child they had.

He also recalled that they would chant a strange language (back then it was, but now he learned that it's the language the Blood God uses) and praise the "Dumnezeu," a stature of a winged creature with large fangs. They would scream repetitively, "Give our daughter your almighty power! Allow her as a servant of yours!" But their God never answered their prayers as Ania grew weaker and weaker.

His parents often told him, "You are a useless little brat, Vladimir." Or something else like, "Go help your sister do something productive or else no dinner for you." Ania did the best to comfort her little brother, but soon she didn't even possess the strength to help herself.

"Run, Vladimir." The night before she had died Ania whispered to Vladimir during his sleep, "Run far away, as far as you can. Never come back, they will do the same to you."

He felt tears rolled off his cheeks that night and nodded silently at his sister. He hid a blade in his pocket and ran off, soon after encountering the two teenagers who called him a "Son of freaks" and his sister "Hot-ass blood whore;" they ended up his very first victims.

Torn between excitement and fear, Vladimir knew then that he could never return to Noxus again. He travelled a long way haunted by the image of the two teens, he felt lost and questioned his own identity.

That was when he had met Dmitri, in this very place, the old temple, and understood what he was born to do. Dmitri revealed to him the origins of his power and will to kill, he casted off the confusion that bothered Vladimir and pointed him a direction. However, when he turned a young adult, Dmitri gave him a task.

"Bring me their blood," Dmitri ordered his apprentice, "And I shall show you whether they are truly your parents or not."

_Finally_, Vladimir thought, _The question will be answered_.

He loved it when he heard their screams. First he ripped the woman's heart out, then he approached the man kneeling on the ground; his robe drenched in blood.

"You…" His father's eyes widened as if he just realized the truth, "You are the God's chosen one! How could I not know… all this time…"

"It is time for you to pay for what you've done to Ania." Vladimir's voice was emotionless, "Your God will never accept your filthy blood."

"No… no!"

…

When he brought the retrieved glasses of blood to Dmitri, his master smiled at him approvingly.

"You have not failed me, Vladimir."

"As always, master." He found it hard to overcome the excitement of the killing he had just done.

Dmitri took the glasses and blended them with Vladimir's own blood, but the liquid would not mix. A thin line between had separated Vladimir's blood from his parents'.

Dmitri burst into deep and evil laughter at the sight of the result.

"Praise the Blood God! My apprentice, Vladimir," Dmitri rose his arms up in the air, "You are undeniably a descendant of the God himself… They were not your parents, Vladimir. You and I are the same; we have Xuchilbara's blood in us!"

Dmitri stepped closer to Vladimir and held his face lovingly. Vladimir stared into his master's crimson eyes, awed and palpitated by the revelation of who he really was.

"You would be my next vessel, Vladimir. I shall teach you all that I know of Hemocraft, and you shall become the greatest Hemomancer of Runterra."

"I shall not fail your expectations, my master."

But, oh, little did he know, that his master's ghost would still haunt him after its body had perished; that he would struggle between his conscience and his natural killing instincts…

And that he would _feel _for someone special.


	11. Sinful Seduction

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Don't move, just close your eyes,<br>I grab your hands and then,  
><em>_I grab your hands and then;  
>You see, although you've been blind:<br>I saved your world again,  
>Just saved your world again." <em>

_– "2 Hearts" by Digitalism (I luv this song)  
><em>

"…But of course! We should really be prepared for this upcoming war…"

"I can't believe the troops are already out… God bless Demacia, and hope the Prince and his might will win us the battle…"

Chatters and unfortunate news of the war was spreading throughout Valoran. The death of the Grand General Boram Darkwill was just a beginning, and it all lead to this unavoidable outbreak of war.

When she first heard about it, Lux was terrified by the fact that Jarvan was the one leading the Demacian army. Lux knew Jarvan: His hatred for Noxus was great enough for him to not think carefully before action, and she feared that, should his troops meet any of the Noxian ones, Jarvan would certainly initiate something. Even with Garen at his side, Lux knew that it would take more than a Crownguard to calm the hotheaded Prince down.

She knew she must fight then, too, for Demacia; but a few nights ago she received a hand-written note – delivered by a pigeon with the Crownguard crest on its feet – from Garen.

_Stay home_, It read, _Take care of Mother and Father, will return as soon as possible. Do not be reckless._

She knew it was wrong, but staying home was not on her choices of actions. Mother and Father had Regan and countless other guards at their side, they didn't need her.

_They never needed me._

It was ridiculous holding onto personal grudges during such crisis, but she was stubborn enough to convince herself that her parents would do just fine without her; at least for the past several years they did quite a good job.

But she thought that she could at least get informative, so hanging around the Institute of War was her solution.

Located between the two great city-states, the champions were able to reach the Institute using portals and vice versa. As soon as Lux arrived she felt the usual magical atmosphere that surrounded this place; she heard that summoners lived here and their studies resulted the magical presence, but it was just rumors that hadn't been proved.

The hallways and rooms inside the Institute were all decorated with Valoran's most precious crystals and gems; these were able to keep the entire structure lit up, and so little use of candles and oil lamps could be seen. The entire Institute was separated into districts including the Justice Headquarters, the Assembly Halls for matches, and resting areas for languid champions.

She wanted so much to sneak into the Headquarters for some useful information, but the powerful magic barrier in front of it was one even she could not pierce through; again, the summoner magic amazed her with its intensity. She felt the frustration of not being able to decode its secret.

Wondering through the Assembly Halls she noticed several champions: Kayle the Judicator, accompanied by Taric, chatting inside one of the rooms; Kog'Maw and his personal caretaker trying to lure him back to his cell with a piece of raw meat (although it seemed to Lux that Kog'Maw had his attention on the caretaker and not the meat), the Void creature leaving a trail of slimy goos on his track; Cho'Gath with several Jailer of his trying to force the creature into the small doors of the Assembly rooms…

These scenes here even made her forget, for a while, that there was a war going outside. She didn't understand why the League was still operating and holding matches when the outside was in turmoil.

Nonetheless, it was what she needed, really. All these years she had fought for Demacia, the country she thought she loved… and now when the time came for her to prove her loyalty, she felt… tired, all of a sudden.

_Jarvan shouldn't have gone_, She thought, _This war was never meant to happen_.

War. Fights. Deaths. Blood. She was sick of them already.

But the helplessness she felt made her wish that she was born in a different time, a time when she could enjoy her parents' love and live peacefully; No military, no restrictions…

And she could have freedom to choose the man to give her heart to.

Ever since their last encounter she felt different for Vladimir, as if his touch left a deep mark inside her, burning ever so slowly but always reminding her that he was able of caring, that he could be sensitive after all.

Aside from all that blood-lusting, he was a handsome guy, tall and lean, with a funny hairstyle. Vladimir didn't really fit her ideal man, but somehow he just got her.

Maybe it was the fear and curiosity she had for him that drew her in. She could guarantee that her disobedient heart would flutter the next time she saw him.

"Well look who we've got here," Lux turned and saw Gragas carrying his barrel across the hall, treading his way towards her. "The Luminous lady herself! Well how'd you do lil'lady? I heard ye country is ready for war now ain't it right?"

"Hi Gragas," She tried to smile but the war wasn't the topic she preferred, "I'm fine, and yes I'm afraid the relationship between Demacia and Noxus isn't very friendly." As always she reminded herself to keep a tight jaw and not to voice opinions in public.

"Oy," Gragas burped loudly but quickly covered his mouth, "Sorry for that; Well I hope all will go alright, war just requires a hellotta focus, ye know, forcus! Like da hawk… hunting down its prey, haha!" Gragas bursted into laughter which made his face even redder.

Something told Lux that this man was clearly drunk beyond her imagination. She watched as he popped open the barrel for another sip.

"Ah the good ol'graggy, why don't you give it a shot eh lil'lady?" He offered the barrel to her. Lux felt utterly helpless and searched for an excuse to get out of the situation.

"Come on Gragas, leave her alone." A man called. Lux glanced beyond Gragas and she felt her heart skipped a beat. _How is he here too?_

"Oy Vlady! Ay you good champ get yourself over here and have some more graggy!" Gragas turned around and waved his thick arms at the Reaper.

"Thank you, but I've had enough." Said Vladimir with a cunning smile upon seeing Lux, the latter responded with an uneasy smile; she got nervous because of his presence.

"We were celebrating our victory in the last match. It was absolutely glorious." Lux knew whenever Vladimir described the battle "glorious," it usually meant plenty of blood; it seemed to her amazing how she could read between his words now.

"Absolutelay, my lady! I'd say we go PARTTTTAAAYYY NOW! Woot!" Gragas began dancing and shaking his big belly.

"That's good to know, but I have to go see someone now. Maybe next time, dear Gragas?" Lux tried to make herself seem as polite as possible.

"Ay tha's too bad, too bad. Well anytime lil'lady! You be good and your country. Oy Vlady, how'bout you and me have some?"

"I… happened to have an appointment right now. I would love to, but I'm afraid I must decline." Lux stared at him, surprised, but didn't think much about it.

"You guys have no fun, nooooooooooooo fun. Aite then I guess I'll fly to good ol'Laffy. Next time!" said Gragas, stumbling away with his barrel, drops of liquor stained the floor where he had passed.

"Must be a hard job, thinking about the cleaners here…" Lux murmured lowly, she looked at Vladimir, who was staring at her intentionally, and turned her gaze away abruptly.

"Going to see this "Someone?" Or was it just a lame excuse?" He mischievously asked.

"Hey, it's none of your business." She felt the heat up her cheeks and tried hard to cool herself down, it would be just embarrassing to blush in front of him. "What about your "appointment?" Another battle?"

Vladimir laughed, "No, but I will consider your suggestion."

"You put 'make up' on anyone today?"

_Oh God, now I'm flirting. Am I flirting?_

Vladimir grinned at her statement and stepped closer; the intimacy almost took her breath away. He watched her with those devilish eyes and spoke gently, "It was not I who gave the make ups today, I assure you."

"Shouldn't you be handling warring affairs in Demacia right now, Miss Crownguard?" asked he.

"I…"

"And I thought you were a patriot, tsk tsk…"

"Don't call me that, Vladimir."

The Reaper smiled, "Your Prince went out to war; Judging from our last encounter, I truly think Demacia needs a better candidate than a hotblooded prince to lead the army."

_Oh, so we do agree on something_. "I hope everything will be alright and this war ends soon. It's painful seeing innocent people dying and suffering through all this…" Her eyes showed signs of sorrow.

"Why do you care for such matter?"

"Would you not if you see what I see? Children being sent to the military only to be trained into killing machines… They did not ask for this, none of them."

When she spoke of it, Vladimir remembered the sad face of Ania, branded in his mind. She too was _only _an expendable part of Noxus' plans and projects that no one cared and no one mourned for.

"_But you don't care for her, Vladimir. You care for no one."_

It was Dmitri's voice in his ears.

"_She was merely human… comparable to a bug. But you are infinite…"_

_Get out of my mind, Dmitri_. Vladimir cussed mentally, _Silence, you damned ghost._

The voice disappeared.

"I wish for it too, that the war to end soon." He sighed, relieved that Lux did not notice his state of mind.

Lux smiled at him, glad to know that there was something redeemable in him.

"But let's not talk about the war now. Come with me," Vladimir offered, "I presume that you haven't tried the Pecan Pie."

"What?" Lux stared at him cluelessly.

"Morgana, the Fallen Angel, happened to open a new bakery here in the Institute. She owns a renowned chain store called the Sinful Succulence in Noxus. Give it a try." He began walking.

"But how do I know if I am a welcomed customer?" Lux worried that the rivalry between their city-states might get in the way; she just didn't felt comfortable walking into a Noxian bakery and eating there.

"Oh you will be," Vladimir turned his head, smiling, "Trust me. Despite the fact that I've slit her throat a few times in the Field, the Fallen Angel and I are quite close. We might even get a discount, if lucky."

"I guess I will give it a try then."

She never felt this excited before, as she thought this might be a chance to get to know this mysterious man better.

* * *

><p>"It's delicious!..." The Pecan Pie blew Lux off her mind; it was the best pie she ever had. The Crimson Reaper smiled at her feedback.<p>

"I told you so."

Lux turned to Vladimir, who was sitting next to her in the bakery store, and smiled at him. For a moment she forgot that he was a fearful Noxian Hemomancer; He felt more like a friend than an enemy.

"You have something on your lips." His words interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

Her eyes widened as she felt the tip of his finger on her lips and held her breath. All she could make up was the look in his eyes when he wiped away the crumbs gently; that was all it took for her heart to soar.

"There." He grinned, "You look like as if I just murdered one of your teammates."

She frowned, although the blush had crawled up her cheeks, "That's not funny, Vladimir."

He chuckled softly and continued, "Very well then, I'll see if I can be on your team this time."

"What do you mean?" She stared at him confusingly.

"A match, of course. And you are going to join me this time; you owe me for the Pecan Pie."

Well, it was true. Lux had no good excuse to get out of this, so she nodded and left to the Assembly Hall with Vladimir.

They had to wait a long time for a match to take place, since most of the champions were affected by the war and applied for short leaves. The battle was not that exciting, too; everyone seemed to be moody and concerned about the war in Kalamada… nonetheless, both sides gave their best shot.

There was a point in a crucial teamfight when Lux and Vladimir had fallen together. But before they were taken away by the Spawners, Lux felt her hand warmed by another; she struggled and turned her head aside to see Vladimir lying on the ground, as critically wounded as she was, and caught her hand tightly in his. She couldn't make a sound since the blood in her throat was leaking into her lungs, but she smiled at him. She held on to his hand, she needed it. She needed him; death wasn't so dreadful all of a sudden.

The Reaper's eyes were dimmed and stared at her quietly; He wondered if this time she would still turn into the light if he held her tight enough. He couldn't suppress his feelings anymore; the smell of her blood, the way she had smiled to him, frowned at him, defended him and quarreled with him… they turned him on, and he must admit that he was damned to have feelings for her.

Their hands remain clutched, but not for long. Soon Lux felt an invisible force pulling her upwards; her body grew lighter but she held on to his hand with all the remaining strength within her.

Meanwhile Vladimir began dissolving into blood; it started with his feet and went fast to his waist. He could see Lux disappearing, and he smiled as he learned that no men could stand against death.

"No men but I, Vladimir." Dazed, he saw Dmitri's form next to them, staring down at him with a look of disdain.

"You have failed me, apprentice."

"Then… I… shall." Vladimir whispered to his master.

Dmitri went silent, then he continued, "You will regret this." His master disappeared.

Vladimir smiled and felt the form of Lux's hand shattered and became airy as his sank completely into a pool of blood. They were separated. His world darkened.

_"Fool, don't you see?"_ In darkness he heard Dmitri again, _"You can never be together..."_

When he regained consciousness, he saw her standing in front of him, smiling. They were suspended mid-air, surrounding them were a group of Spawners – faceless, veiled humanoids.

"Interesting death you have back there." Lux began shyly.

"You have seen it before, have you not?" He looked into her airy eyes; both of them were in the ghostly spirit form as the Spawners began chanting and working on re-materializing their body.

She giggled, "Maybe, but I can't recall."

"You might need another Pecan Pie after this," Vladimir laughed, "That is if you still possess the appetite after watching me slaughter the other team when we're back."

She pouted, "I will never fight alongside you again."

"You're just saying that."

He seized her face and landed an unexpected quick kiss on her lips. Lux was caught completely off-guard and had to remind herself that this wasn't a dream. She surprised herself when her heart received the kiss with much joy.

But Vladimir let her go and grinned with satisfaction.

"Now you'll have to fight _against_ me to avenge for that."

Then she knew she was a doomed prey of the Reaper.


	12. Unexpected Visitor

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff.**

* * *

><p>"<em>No safety or surprise, the end; I'll never look into your eyes...again." – "The End" by Doors<em>

Shadows that lurked in the dead of night, burglars and thieves that raided the innocent households, two-faced politicians and their lapdogs…

They were nothing compared to the Noxian assassins that walked the day, disguised as ordinary Demacian citizens. No.

What Shauna Vayne, the Night Hunter and sentinel of Demacia, knew was that in times of war, even your hometown could become a battlefield; when your foes blended in with your folks, one knew that awareness should definitely be practiced.

Although many times she had warned Lux to open her eyes and keep vigilant, Vayne feared that someday her naïve friend would fall a victim to her kind nature.

If it weren't for Lux, she would have had that smug Hemomancer's essence in her storage by now; She had almost succeeded last time but that silly joker had to fuck everything up by attacking Lux. Vayne remembered strictly ordering him not to touch her ally… but it didn't matter, she only hoped that Lux won't look down on her when the bubble had burst.

She had always lived like this – worried and tensed.

In her lonely world without family's shelter, Vayne never felt safe. And she had sworn that she would not let her own tragedy repeat in other families.

Not as long as she was around.

Unlike Lux, Vayne stopped all of her League activities when the news of the war came out. She could not offer wasting her stamina in the arena while having the duty to keep Demacia safe from harm.

Still, she kept in touch with her friend, her only friend.

But Lux's increasing interest in the Hemomancer deeply disturbed her.

She would never trust a Hemomancer, she would only hunt them down.

After all, the malevolent witch that slaughtered her family was one of them.

It happened so long ago that Vayne could barely make out the outline of the woman's face; what she did remember was her voice that chanted wicked spells and the rivers of blood that ran through the floors.

No, she would not stop hunting them until every last one was dead; and their essences completely eliminated.

And perhaps one day their paths shall cross again, that would be the day she avenge for her kin, or die trying.

There were noises from her door.

She lifted her head from meditation and took a second to make sure there was a visitor. When she had answered the door, the uninvited guest surprised her.

"How… it's my pleasure to see you." She gave an elegant bow.

"The pleasure is mine, please." The man spoke.

She didn't know, but she had made a huge mistake letting him in.

"Nice hut you have here, Night Hunter." The man paced around her room and only came to a stop when he noticed the cellar door to the basement.

"Thank you. It had been ages since the last time I gave care to this place."

"I'm sure it wouldn't mind waiting a little longer." He grinned. Vayne recognized that there was something odd about him, but she kept her doubts inside. The reputation of her guest was not one to be questioned easily, after all.

"How have you been, really?" His eyes shone like cats, which Vayne found strangely familiar.

The man reminded her of an old acquaintance, but that was impossible; not even Vayne was sure that She was capable of such thing.

Instinctively she took a step back and her hands searched blindly for the small crossbow. Her better judgement was telling her to be ready.

As soon as she found the crossbow, she immediately raised it in front of her; the silver arrow perpendicular to the man. She felt sweat running down the side of her face, but she knew her speculations had to be right.

"Oh, what a nice weapon you have. Is that crafted in Piltover?" The man did not show signs of surprise upon seeing her action.

The Night Hunter remained silent. Time disappeared between them and she could almost hear a ticking bomb somewhere stuck in his head.

"Now, Vayne." He laughed, an awkward and utterly out-of-character laugh for him, "You are truly the most vigilant person in this place."

"Don't make me do this," She spoke calmly, though her arm holding the crossbow appeared to be shaking, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, Vayne. I can be everyone, but now I am me. And I came to retrieve what is rightfully Her Majesty's property."

For a second Vayne thought she saw the true form of the intruder, and she was shocked by the sight. Immediately she knew what he came for.

"You!" she shouted, realizing a terrible fact she had omitted all this time.

It was that exact second when the puzzles and hints in her mind began to crystallize, a huge vortex called Truth sucked her in; she felt her head spun around its center and lost her ability of speech.

She fired, but the arrow was blocked by an invisible shield around him, it broke into half before landing on the ground. The man took the chance to immobilize her and locked her arms in place. Vayne grinded her teeth and struggled in his arms; but he overpowered her easily as he landed a firm, stunning blow on the side of her head.

Vayne was blinded by the impact as her eyes began rolling backwards. It didn't even hurt when her body hit the ground.

She never thought it would come to this.

_Why didn't I realize it earlier?_

"Poor girl," she could barely make out the words coming out of his mouth, "I promise you I will keep you alive for old time's sake, but Her Majesty's will must be fulfilled."

"You would make a fine candidate, Shauna. She needs you." She heard him breaking into her basement through the cellar door.

And it was all she knew before falling into the abyss of unconsciousness.


	13. Why Did You Leave Me Too

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Two steps I take get me closer, and closer; But one more breath I take, sends me, further back…" <em>

_– "Acceptance" by Akira Yamaoka & Melissa Williamson_

It had been weeks since Lux last heard of Vayne, but she hardly noticed her friend's absences before Vladimir brought it up unexpectedly.

Ever since that Pecan Pie afternoon, the two casters grew closer and were frequently seen in same matches, either together or opposing. They were also the last ones to leave after matches, often for stealing a few pecks and to chat; they didn't want people to know their secret connection.

"What's wrong, Vladimir?" Lux's voice was tender, her sapphire blue eyes locked on the man she began to care for. It hurt her to see him getting moodier the more time they spend together.

The face of the Reaper was gloomy. He lifted his gaze from the empty floors of the Assembly room to catch hers.

"I'm fine."

"You certainly don't look fine. It's like you have your… nevermind." Lux almost let it slip, good thing she held back her tongue at the right time.

"My?" Vladimir seemed interested, but it was only a subtle change in his expression.

"It's a girl thing."

She thought she ought to leave him guessing at times to amend for what he always did to her. Truth was, it disappointed her how Vladimir still didn't open up to her, though she did not either. The affection she had for him had never been stronger, and she took baby steps wanting to see more of the Crimson Reaper.

Vladimir did not comment on her response but proposed a question to her.

"This friend of yours… Vayne, if I remember correctly, does she ever collect anything?"

Vayne's words rang in her head, _Don't ever mention this to anyone_, the day when Vayne revealed to her how hemomancers obtained power replayed itself. Lux felt alerted.

"I'm…. not quite sure, why?"

"Well, it's a hemomancer thing." Vladimir replied with a straight face, almost impossible for Lux to guess beneath its surface. She felt helpless towards the statement.

"Come to think about it, I haven't seen her in weeks… She just disappeared from the League before the war and everytime I try to visit her there is no one home."

She paused before adding, "I think I'll go check her place now since you brought it up."

Vladimir walked towards her, his face determined. "I'll follow you."

"No!" Lux surprised herself with the power in her voice, Vladimir didn't know it was because she knew about the phylacteries; He was a bit confused by her reaction. She lowered her volume and made herself sound as reasonable as possible, "No, it's in Demacia. You can't just walk in there."

"Oh I can," He grinned, "I can even pay Jarvan III a visit with my sanguine pool."

"But…"

"Despite the fact that I can't stay pooled forever, I can still use it to get by the guards and the gates."

"Vladimir…" She could feel that he tried very hard to convince her, but she promised herself that she would not be easily negotiated on this matter.

"So, what do you say, Miss Crownguard?"

Lux looked at him, his face – unlike moments ago – was glimmering with excitement. She could even smell the metallic blood in the air; it seemed like whenever Vladimir was in the mood of destroying something, the smell just evolved around him.

She couldn't help but question his enthusiasm.

With her best efforts, she hid her suspicions and placed a hand on his face, smiling at him. "Please, I must go myself. Just this time, Vladimir, okay?"

She saw the unpleasant look flashed through his face before he regained his smile. "Very well then. I'll be waiting for your return." He captured her lips softly with his own and did not linger for too long.

She returned the kiss and was glad that he did not make it long; her nostrils trapped the indisposing scent of blood, giving her a hard time to focus on his lips. She quickly said her farewell and made her way out, failing to notice the face that sank behind her.

When she had arrived, the wide-open entrance of Vayne's place and the Demacian city guards surprised Lux. She made her way to a tall soldier and inquired the situation.

"I'm deeply sorry, Ma'am. The resident was reported as missing a day ago."

"Missing? How…?" She immediately denied the possibility, Shauna Vayne was a powerful hunter, Lux knew no one could do harm to her without trying very hard. She requested permission to look inside the room but was rejected. So she ran a few meters away and casted the spell that could make her invisible under natural light, and sneaked into the hut.

The same window she once stared out from provided enough sunlight for her to maintain the spell. She looked around and found little evidence of combat; only a broken arrow on the floor being carefully examined by a soldier.

It proved her suspicions: that Vayne did not encounter serious danger, but it did not tell Lux why her friend had disappeared.

She glanced at the bed and found an open text lying on top of the old, messy blankets, she scanned the page roughly:

… _they were unrest, and mankind was dissatisfied by the Creator's work. It enraged the First Angel, and so he came forth with a raven cloak that shadowed his entire being. The people trembled in fear as the bright skylines began fading away, replaced by the suffocating darkness…_

She frowned. The story sounded familiar, but she could not recall its name. Slowly and soundlessly, she lifted the side of the book only to have a peak at the title – _The Tales of Legends: Creation of the World_. _This must be the last thing Vayne read before something happened_, Lux kept the clue in mind.

After making sure her previous movements weren't detected by the soldiers, she decided to take a look at the basement; after all, the busted cellar door and the dark passage beneath it were intriguing.

She traveled down the short passage. When she arrived at the basement, she found another soldier looking through the dusty shelves under dim candle light. She took a step, but he turned around abruptly and caught her right there.

_Oh hell_, She thought to herself, _Forgot that it's dark down here._

"How did you get down here Ma'am? I thought – "

_Bam! _A body fell to the ground with a muffed thud.

Before he could finish, Lux had successfully knocked him out of consciousness with the baton. She looked back at the stairs and only relaxed when made sure no one came after her. She felt sorry for the soldier but it needed to be done.

She proceeded to finish the job the poor soldier began earlier. There was a big gap between the books from left to right on one shelf, as if somethings were misplaced or removed from this position. She continued searching, hoping to find valuable information, but her efforts in vain.

After several minutes of clueless searching, she finally gave up and unwillingly accepted the conclusion.

Broken arrow… Tales of Creation… empty shelves… nothing made a damn sense to her, and they probably didn't; maybe she just wanted to believe that they _meant_ something.

Shauna Vayne had left Demacia without notice, without the farewell party she had promised Lux before, without reasons.

And suddenly Lux felt hurt and betrayed, her heart convulsed as she realized that her best friend had left her; just like everyone else she ever cared for did. She dropped her knees to the ground, and her eyes were wet once more.


	14. The Blood and The Rose

**A/N**

**Game: League of Legends**

**Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>But we never really had a choice, we're conscience killers; Don't want no conscience at all."<br>– "Conscience Killers" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club  
><em>

Fate had presented too wonderful an opportunity for Vladimir to waste. He admitted to himself that stalking Lux was more of a selfish act than trying to protect her.

What was she to him? A friend, or merely another wild flower he picked on the blood-stained path? No, not exactly.

She was a sweet thing, the midnight sun. But he didn't know what he wanted from her; the days seemed to prolong themselves with his need and instincts roaring inside him ever so strongly. And the last company he wanted – Her, for amplifying his agony.

He got closer to her because she was useful – especially when her good friend happened to be the Night Hunter. But the more he learned about Lux, he felt guiltier to possess the idea of using her, though he had no choice.

How could he allow it slip away? Vayne was the only clue that he could use to find the phylacteries. And once he had obtained the remaining essences, he would no longer need to kill – at least he thought he wouldn't – and the aching need would disappear.

"…_and then you will hunger for more." _

…_Dmitri._

"_You are nothing without me, Vladimir." _Dmitri's voice echoed, _"You are nothing more than a vessel once I take my leave."_

Vladimir grinned, _Then I'll do all it takes to contain you, Dmitri. _

He felt a vibe of terror rush through his veins, as if Dmitri feared the sincerity in Vladimir's words. His master fell silent then.

The thought of losing Dmitri's legacy was unbearable; He was right, Vladimir would be pathetic if he hadn't killed his master.

_I need those phylacteries.  
><em>

* * *

><p>He remained hidden behind an oak tree when he witnessed Lux appearing out of nowhere outside the small hut. Vladimir presumed that it must be Vayne's place; what caught his attention was the group of Demacian guards that went inside just now. He figured Lux must have escaped their attention with the help of her light magic.<p>

_Intriguing… But there's always the easier way, _ He smiled to himself and approached the hut and put on his hood as soon as Lux vanished in his sight.

The door was wide open, Vladimir walked in and hummed in disappointment at the scene. He always thought the Night Hunter had a better taste in room decors, but the hut made his home look like a grand palace. The guards weren't here, surprisingly. Vladimir glanced around and found noises coming beyond a broken cellar door on the ground. He went down the dark stairs cautiously and found the pack of guards in the basement, surrounding an unconscious one on the floor.

Immediately one of the guards, upon seeing him, drew out his iron sword and pointed it towards the Hemomancer. "Stay back, citizen! Who gave you permission to come in?" The guard spoke in a heavy Demacian accent, the kind when Lux talked about her country and favorite food – Vladimir shooed the thought away and eyed the guards around him viciously.

"I did."

Before the other guards could react, the essence formed itself in his hand as he closed his eyes and felt it ravage every living body around him. The heavy scent of slaughter intoxicated him like it never had in the Field of Justice.

It ended as quickly as it had started, with the looks of terror frozen in the eyes of the twisted, ensanguined bodies. It took a while for Vladimir to recover from the thrill of killing as he almost forgot his agenda. He pulled up a guard who was crawling to escape and inquired slowly, "Tell me what happened to the owner of this hut."

"I… I don't know!" The guard coughed out blood as Vladimir tightened his grip around his neck; the poor man watched as the thin lips beneath the shady hood moved once again.

"Speak or die, soldier." He could feel the cruelty in his own voice. _Lux was right, I am a monster_, He smiled, which intimidated the soldier even more.

"She… She disappeared! W- We found out she was missing a day ago, t-that's all! I swear!" The soldier almost cried out the sentence, as if he actually hoped it could help him cheat death.

"Hmph. You could have told me that sooner." Vladimir sighed, pained that precious time was wasted on an unsatisfying piece of information, and didn't hesitate to put the soldier out of his misery.

He straightened up and observed the post-slaughter basement. A slightly glowing object on the ground caught his attention, his crimson eyes widened at the sight.

And there it was, lying silently amidst the ocean of blood, happily fed by the fresh fluid – A tiny shard of essence.

He laughed at himself for not seeing it earlier, but then again, the situation was too crowded and the shard probably wasn't glowing from the absence of blood. He bent over and picked it up, surprised when the shard left a small cut on his index finger; immediately it radiated and embraced this new source of energy.

"Greedy one, aren't you?" Said he, sucking the blood away while fusing the shard with his essence. When all was done, with a satisfied smile, Vladimir made his decision.

Hunt down Shauna Vayne and her possessions.

But first he must return, before more of the city guards come to visit his new masterpiece.

Back in his safe haven, Vladimir sat down on the stone steps of the temple and pondered the whereabouts of the remaining essences. He stretched and let out a sigh; the cloak he got rid of earlier lay quietly next to him. The cluelessness was frustrating, but how far could she go? To Piltover, the Desert… Yordle City?

No, even if she did, why?

Perhaps she finally figured out that he was ought to get her and her secret stash, so she fled. All sorts of theories were drowning him. He grabbed the cloak and returned to his room in the basement, where he carelessly tossed it on an armchair.

He hoped that a good nap would work things out and went towards his bed but halted when he saw a foreign object above the sheets.

A dark rose.

_She's been here._

Vladimir looked around, relieved by the fact that he was alone. He took a closer look and found a small note next to the flower, on it were neat and curvy sentences that stated: _You will find what you seek in the heart of the Rose. Twilight hour, make it Bloom._

The puzzle was not hard for Vladimir to solve – in fact, he already knew where to find "the heart of the Rose."

Energy pulsed through his veins as he grabbed the cloak and headed back to his hometown, Noxus.

After an hour of travelling, he could finally make up the fiery outlines atop of the dark mountain, the foundation of the Noxian High Command. The sun was already on its way to meet the horizon as the last part of its routine, and Vladimir could see the starry lights appearing one by one beneath the mountain, outside the dark moat – where the scums lived.

Where _he_ once lived.

He had to keep on pace to defend himself from the memories that came crashing through; The fragments in his mind that defined the word "family." Good thing that they were long gone, so he couldn't feel anything as he walked down the streets of the slum, with strangers occasionally staring at his shadowed face beneath his hood; A familiar stranger he was to Noxus.

As he wondered through the subterranean passages beneath the great mountain, he noticed that even during war times, the under-dwellers of Noxus still continued their lives as if everything happening above was none of their concerns. He saw various carefree merchants in the torch-lit tunnel/streets he passed through.

"Evening sir…" A shady peddler who stood beside a stall called at Vladimir; He could tell the man was a Zaunian, apparently putting a lot of effort in adapting the Noxian accent. "Don't be in the rush… I have the best and newest potions from Zaun, please have a look…"

Vladimir approached the stall, casting a quick glance at his goods: none of them really out of the ordinary, health potions, balms, salves, and of course, labels of skulls among them. He had no interest in purchasing, but he figured he could use some directions.

"Listen, peddler," He tried to sound not so intimidating, since enraging a Zaunian was not in his best interest. "Have you any idea where the Twilight Hour Inn may be?"

The peddler looked up at him, scorn written all over his wrinkled skin. Vladimir had forgotten that Zaunians valued respect greatly as a virtue. The merchant spat to the ground and growled out, his previous manners all vanished, "Listen, stanger… You be careful the way you talk here…you best find your way on your own."

He stared at Vladimir for a short while before finally looking away, ignoring his existence and calling out to another passerby. "Good evening sir… How may I help you?"

Vladimir felt the urge to turn this man into a dried chunk of meat, but he held it back and walked away. The small amount of essence he took in earlier seemed to increase his need to kill; He wasn't sure whether that comforted or worried him. Identifying emotions was never one of his best skills; _Maybe next time I should try using Shimmer, _He thought to himself, wondering if his skin would glow blood red once coated by the chemical substance, showing his evil intentions for all of the world to see.

But right now, he needed to remember the path to the Inn, and pray that the address did not change.

Upon arrival, the Inn, luckily, was still there. The same spot just pass the stone bridge across the underground river, down a narrow corridor of sitting and hanging stalactites. Vladimir looked around the familiar scene and couldn't help wondering if these caverns were natural… perhaps the early architects of Noxus were just amazingly talented, building such huge networks of tunnels and caves, safely protected by the earth above. _Hidden_.

The Twilight Hour Inn was, to be honest, the shabbiest inn around. Mold-corrupted wood made up its crooked body, and broken windows – the idea of building windows for an underground structure made him laugh everytime – decorated the empty spaces around its surface; The interior design, of course, corresponded to its appearance. Vladimir approached the bar stool, waiting to be greeted by the bartender.

The inn seemed to have just opened, as there weren't that many customers as usual. Under the candle light there were a few Noxian merchants sitting near the performance stage, drinking their boozes and whispering something since Vladimir's arrival. The Crimson Reaper saw a new poster on the wall next to the stage, _Pentakill Concert: Coming soon to slaughter you and your closest friends. _A nicely drawn portrait of the current members of Pentakill was printed below the words, their lead guitarist and vocal Mordekaizer was depicted to be sucking the souls out of the audiences.

_Cruel_. Vladimir wondered if the band would ever expand their influence to Demacia, though his guess was probably not.

If they do, he would take her to the concert. He really wanted to – after all, it would make her happy, wouldn't it?

Why would he care?

"Oh dear Lord Darkwill, you bastard haven't been here for fucking centuries!"

Vladimir turned around and saw the good old bartender Laret, as uncouth as ever, grinning at him.

"I apologize, Laret. The situation is critical this time, I have to be – "

"OH, 'The situation is critical,' so you _don't_ have to be here as long as someone's not threatening your fucking life?... Don't look at me that way! I know what you're thinking: 'Oh maybe I just don't care whether old Laret missed me or not!' I mean, WHO needs old Laret when life is so good inside the League, where the hot babes from around the world – different size and species – are available 24/7? Have you got any good lay so far? You fucking don't look like you got laid or something; you turning gay for good old Laret?"

Vladimir was rendered speechless by Laret's rants, it took a while for him to process what the bartender just threw out. "There is someone I'm after now."

"Wait, in the 'I will rape and drain her' way or the 'I will fuck and hopefully love her' way?"

The Reaper didn't know how to answer; He was still unsure of his feelings towards her, but there was something he was sure about.

"I feel for her."

Laret burst into laughter at his response, "Oh man, look at you! Look at your face when you said that; God, Vlad, you cold-blooded motherfucker, fucking miracle man. Who is this hot babe that's totally screwing you over now?"

Vladimir replied coolly, "She's Demacian."

"Oh," Laret's face sank at revelation, "Oh, shit."

"Yeah." Vladimir figured that Laret would react this way, being a hardcore patriot.

"No man, I mean, shit, a _Demacian_?... Those chicks get emotionally involved so easily, like, serious man, you can't fucking cheat on them, ever," Laret paused before asking, "She in League?"

"Yeah."

"Son of a bitch." Laret ran a hand through his messy hair, "Yeah man, cheating, not cool. Last one I had left me this piece of souvenir." He showed a long scar running down his left arm, almost the length of the entire upper arm. "Not cool, man. This fucking hurts, still."

Vladimir watched the scar in silence, wondering if this was how things between them would end; An inerasable scar and a broken heart – on her part.

"Hope she's a mage of somekind, then the worst you lucky bastard will get is just frost bites or third-degree burns – this shit's permanent!" Laret thought for a second and continued, "Damn, Vlad, what were you thinking? I mean, you got all the charms and technically the entire world for you to fuck with, but you just have to bang a Demacian bitch –"

"_Don't_. Call her that way." Vladimir felt the fire burning within him again, he voice was loud enough to attract the attention from others in the bar. "Keep your mouth clean, Laret." He stared at the man menacingly.

Laret covered his mouth and nose and mumbled, "Hey, look… I didn't mean it okay? My mom said that she dropped me into a pile of horse shit when I was born. Not my fault that I have a dirty mouth. God, Vlad, take the smell away already!"

Vladimir didn't notice that the smell of blood filled the air again, he quickly calmed himself down. For a second he really did want to hurt Laret, maybe that was when his essence sneaked out again – It had been doing this for a while now, as if he was losing control of his own blood.

_Maybe it was Dmitri trying to take control over me. _ If the need inside him was comparable to a pit of fire, then Dmitri would be the one fanning and adding the logs… yet without Dmitri, he would be…

_Empty._

"Phew, that's much better. You know my mom always said that I'm a chicken shit who can't become a real soldier because I hate the smell of blood? Fuck, I remember when I slept with – "

"Enough, Laret. I'm here for business, not for chitchat."

Laret stared at Vladimir, eyes narrowed into thin lines. "Fine, have it your way, Vlad." He turned around and grabbed an empty glass, filling it with fresh Graggy Ice.

Vladimir waited patiently for him to ask the question.

"So," Laret took a big sip from the glass, "How's your roses?"

"Never better," Vladimir grinned at him, "They're blooming soon."

"That is good to know, Vlad. Good to know." Laret came out from the counter and motioned Vladimir to follow him. "Come. Same room upstairs reserved only for you buddy."

* * *

><p>With a soft click, the door shut behind Vladimir, and he was alone – but not for long. It only took him a minute to locate the out-of-place closet, which would lead him to the Heart of the Rose and the answer he had been searching for. He opened the closet, revealing a purple portal that served as the gateway which connected the Order of the Black Rose and the Inn.<p>

Once again, he found himself walking amongst mages in this underground palace, the safe harbor for the people of the Black Rose. The dark libraries where he used to linger to siphon knowledge were the same from his memories, with additional worktables and robed figures working on mystic scrolls. Silence was the music that filled the air, and Vladimir had never felt so welcomed.

When was the last time he came to this place? The secret assembly of the most powerful sorcerers of Noxus. He couldn't quite recall. Everything that happened between the day Dmitri died and the day he joined the League was a cloud of fog – but then again, there was nothing that spectacular and worth remembering.

Unlike the mages here, Vladimir was no political animal; all he wanted was to kill and sate his need. However, something… someone saw the potential in him, and just like Dmitri, this person also pointed him a direction.

_She also taught me how to deal with people._

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

_Sometimes that's all I hope to remember of her._

"It's only been what, a year or so?" A feminine voice pierced through the silence, "And look at you… wondering around my territory like a blind dog." Vladimir heard those familiar footsteps, he could close his eyes and imagine the way she walked – light and elegant.

"LeBlanc." He called the name softly, the tides of memory rose up in his mind: The way she smelled, the texture of her skin… and of course, her deceiving smile. The Matron of the Black Rose.

"Vladimir, my dear," LeBlanc appeared dressed in a heavy set of armor, "I missed the way you called my name, a lot."

She giggled, the medal armor pieces clashed onto each other, making light noises. LeBlanc looked like an overprotected doll inside the enormous corslet.

"Sorry you have to see me like this. I just happened to get out of a 'war situation.'"

Vladimir watched her in silence, as he noticed that the armor looked strangely familiar.

"Which kind?"

"Oh don't let that bother you, handsome. You were never into this whole political stuff anyway." LeBlanc lifted her chin a bit so her mouth was not buried under the neck piece. "I believe there's something else you might be interested in."

He watched as his old friend smiled cunningly, thinking if the upcoming event would surprise him.

"Lead the way."

LeBlanc took him to an inner repository, where the trinkets and legacies of the Black Rose were kept. Vladimir felt his heart stop when he saw what he came for.

Ten bottles of pure Hemomancer essences; each sealed within their different shaped glass containers, they seemed to shine in Vladimir's eyes, though they really were dimmed and lifeless. He took a minute to make sure that they were actually an inch away from him.

…_I have been looking for you for too long._

"See anything you like?" LeBlanc rested one of her small, thin hands on Vladimir's shoulder.

"…Very." He tried to control his trembling voice; he could hear his inner demon screaming at him ever so loudly.

Seeing them also answered the question that had been in his mind: It was LeBlanc who took the phylacteries from Vayne.

_But where is the Night Hunter?_

"They are all yours, Vladimir." She lifted her hand and stepped in front of him, "All yours."

He managed to remove his gaze from the irresistible containers and returned a smile to LeBlanc.

"…But I know you well, LeBlanc; Nothing comes without a price from you." He paused, observing the little smile that bloom from the corner of her lips. "So what will it be?"

She laughed, "I need you to meet someone."

"Who?" Curiosity showing in his voice.

"Ah…remember your parents, Vladimir? And the secret project they were working on?"

_How could I forget_, He cussed at the memory. "They are not my parents."

LeBlanc lifted an eyebrow, "How are you so sure?"

"Just get to your point."

"My point is – we did it, Vladimir; The Black Rose succeeded in bringing her back."

"Bringing who back?"

She grinned.

"The Third Angel, Vladimir. The Angel of Blood. Xuchilbara."


	15. Shimmer

**A/N**

**My sincere apologies for the delayed update. And thank you all for supporting and sticking around xD It's a hella fun writing the story and I hope you would enjoy reading it too :)**

**It's Riot's, peeps.**

* * *

><p>"<em>And I can tell just what you want,<br>You don't want to be alone,  
>You don't want to be alone;<br>And I can't say it's what you know,  
>But you've known it the whole time,<br>Yeah, you've known it the whole time."_

– "_What You Know" by Two Door Cinema Club  
><em>

The hall was quiet and empty as Vladimir walked on. He returned to the IOW, where he was supposed to meet Lux, after having arranged an agreement with the Deceiver: Meet the Third Angel, and he shall have his long-desired phylacteries.

"_You'll have them when you are ready, Vladimir dear." _ A cunning character she was, LeBlanc would not let his hands on the bottles until he had finally decided to go with her.

Until he had finally decided to let go of… everything.

He couldn't understand why all of a sudden he became such a need for an ancient creature, and strangely that ever since LeBlanc told him about Xuchilbara, Dmitri had been silent no matter how hard Vladimir tried to communicate with him. On certain occasions it even made him look like a lunatic mumbling to himself, frustrated over a voice he could not hear.

Now he had no idea why he was still clinging on to his old life when acquiring the phylacteries was as simple as going on a field trip, but merely seconds later, he figured out why.

At first the noise was little, which grew louder and louder into audible whimpers at the end of the hall, near the resting area of the champions. Vladimir recognized the sound, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace, almost dashing down the rest of the hallway.

And there she was, sitting down on one of the vine-twisted chairs outside the closed bakery, suppressing her sobbing as best as she could; even though she knew that there was no one around.

Again she cried. How many times had he seen her tears? When they first met, she cried for Vayne, whom he had killed; When she took the blame from Jarvan for befriending a Noxian, she cried again, if not for shame then for… him.

_Then what is it for this time?_

He approached her, the soft cling inside his pocket gave him out as Lux turned around, gasping in surprise.

"Oh God… Vladimir… I-it's you," She sounded like she had caught a cold, "You… you scared me."

He stood still, staring at her silently. She never made the effort to hide away her sorrows in front of him; as a matter of fact, she never made efforts to hide any of her emotions from him.

"Why are you crying?" For a moment he couldn't find better words to say.

She wiped the red corner of her eyes and replied, "Vayne disappeared… she left…"

_Of course_, He thought,_ And LeBlanc probably knows where. But should I?..._

"Fits her character, if I must say."

Lux frowned at him, eyes still watery. "She wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. She promised me."

Vladimir shrugged, "Promises are made to be broken, Lux." _That's why I never promise anything to anyone other than myself._

He pulled a chair and sat next to her. Silence filled the air as Vladimir observed the expression on Lux's face – now almost blank – and remembered that this would probably be their last meeting for a while. An anonymous feeling aroused inside him, it possessed him when he thought about her in Noxus; Strange that he used to feel the same thing for Ania.

"Something must have happened to her, I know it," Her words pulled him back, "And I'm going to find her."

Vladimir chuckled, though no taunting intended. "You haven't the slightest idea of where to start. Isn't it a bit too early for decision-making?"

"I still have to try, don't I? Vlad… Vladimir, would you help me?"

He looked into her pleading eyes, finding himself unable to deny nor accept. He could not, could he? Could Vayne be where LeBlanc is taking him to? Or was she really just locked up deep inside the dungeons of the Noxian High Command?

"I'm going away soon." Immediately he realized that it wasn't the best time to tell her this, not after the girl just lost her close friend. He watched as her face sank, felt like he just put out the last candle she had.

"Wh-where? Aren't you staying for the Harrowing?" She fisted her hands on her laps as if refusing to let go of an invisible lasso.

"I… can't. This is too important for me, I can't stay for long." He forgot that the Harrowing was near; shame that he couldn't wait any longer to get what he needed.

She stared at him helplessly, certain that he was not hers to keep. How could she even think about keeping him, like she kept Vayne with her? It was selfish, no doubt, but who else could she turn to? She swallowed back the raging tears and stood up abruptly. _If good-byes are to be exchanged_, She thought, _They better be done as soon as possible… before he disappears, too._

"I understand… so this is goodbye, right?" She faked a smile bitterly.

"No, not yet, Lux." He wanted to tell her so much; to tell her that he was going to help her find Vayne and it won't be long before he returns, though when those lips finally moved again, the words were "I will be leaving tomorrow, don't say your goodbyes now and run away like a victim." He smiled, took her hand as he stood up.

"Come, I'll show you where I live."

"What? No, Vladimir. I'm tired, please… I just want to go home." It was a lie; she hoped it was convincing enough for him to let her go. She couldn't spend another second with someone who was ultimately going to leave her.

Vladimir then wrapped her small body in his arms and whispered softly next to her ear, word by word, "No, you don't." He felt her tensed figure began to relax, until finally she returned the embrace around his waist, head to his beating heart. Surrendered.

"Why are you doing this to me?..." She sighed as he smiled, satisfied, and held her even closer.

* * *

><p>By the time they arrived at the Temple, the skies were already starry. Vladimir led Lux through the dark forests, ignoring the wolves that blinked their hungry yellow eyes at them. They passed by the stream where he bathed, and a few minutes later, the old temple came in sight.<p>

"I'll go light up the candles. Hope you are not considering my habitat antique and creepy." Said Vladimir before disappearing in the dark.

Lux glanced around outside the temple, clearly wasn't expecting to see all this. She had imagined him living in a hunter's hut like Vayne's, a stone house, and even a levitating castle like those in Piltover… but never an old, secluded temple. Seconds later, more and more interior structure was revealed as the lights came on; however, what attracted her attention was not the inside of the temple, but an almost unnoticeable grave just outside.

She deftly skipped over and inspected the grave closely. It was dark but she could make out the outlines of a flower under the moonlight.

A rose it was, placed atop the dirt. Mysterious and beautiful, such that she forgot to breathe for a second.

"Found something interesting?"

She turned around, and Vladimir was standing above her with a grin.

"Was it someone important?" She asked tentatively.

His eyes slightly widened. "It…" _It was a girl that I murdered and buried._ "Yes. It was my master." _Great lie, Vladimir. The master whom you also murdered._

"_You left out the part which the girl reminded you of her." _Dmitri's voice returned to him, as haunting as ever. Vladimir blocked out the voice as best as he could.

"He was the one who taught you your… magic, wasn't he?" Lux persisted; thought she could at least know him better, the person she had grown to care about. The person she had prepped a room in her heart for.

"Yes." He hesitated before adding, "I joined the League after he passed away from disease." He could feel the invisible eyes judging him, like how it was during the Judgement.

Lux stood up, arms folded, but her eyes still fixed on the lively rose. "You must have admired him. Afterall, he taught you how to…" She swallowed hard, weighing and carefully choosing her words. The man who turned Vladimir into a cruel Hemomancer, no better word than a Killer could describe him. Suddenly she felt unable to get the words out, even so she tried.

"How to kill." She turned and looked him in the eyes, holding her ground in a firm stance.

And then his lips curved up. A sick satisfaction came to him. He lifted his hand and was about to place it on her cheek, but halted when he found his hand glowing a strange hue of red. _What is this sorcery?_

Then it struck him. Of course, he must have broken the bottle of Shimmer while travelling back. Remember the merchant whom he carelessly disrespected in Noxus? After visiting the Deceiver, he stopped by and purchased a bottle to show his apologies, plus satisfying his own curiosities.

Now the fluid must have soaked the inner pocket of his coat and he had gotten some on his hand accidentally. Nonetheless, the vibrant red glow around his fingers… his previous suspicions were correct, Killing is something he could never forgo.

"What is this?" Lux seemed distracted by the Shimmer on his hand, she held his glowing hand with her own. Immediately some of the glow moved towards her small hand and formed a weak, misty white color.

"I bought this earlier. A Zaunian elixir called Shimmer that radiates colors which reflect the mood. Fancy, isn't it? But note that it's also highly toxic." He grinned mischievously as he saw the panic in her eyes, "No, it is not. Don't worry."

She pouted at him, and at that moment their eyes met. An unspeakable feeling found its way into both of their hearts as Vladimir filled the gaps between her fingers with his own. He looked down, amazed by how the color of her hand had changed.

From the previous misty white, the aura grew twice as broad and radiated wondrous colors; Switching between primary colors and mixed colors, as dazzling as one could imagine. It even overpowered the red glow around his hand, pierced through it, and attempted to convert the colors into one. Absorbing, imploding, expanding.

They didn't talk, for words were not necessary. Lux never noticed that her cheeks were blushing; she was amazed by the colors that reflected her mood… When she looked at him, what she saw wasn't a killer. Instead, she saw a man, a Noxian man, whom she felt special for. She knew she must have gone insane.

He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and the glowing aura almost threatened to explode and blind both of them. He laughed softy and joked, "You are not secretly charging your deadly rainbow beam, are you?"

To that she returned a smile, "You've tried it once, I believe another demonstration won't be necessary."

Later they exchanged a long talk, from politics to their own countries to families, and then siblings. Vladimir felt comfortable telling her about Ania, but he deliberately omitted the part where his parents tortured and abused her. Lux on the other hand, told him what a "Hero" her older brother was regarded as in the family and how she had always wanted to prove herself to her parents. They went on until Vladimir went out to clean his Shimmer-soaked coat, and by the time he returned he found that Lux was already comfortably asleep on his couch, which led him to conclude that she was probably too tired from the travel earlier. At least he still managed to pull out a clean sheet of blanket to keep her warm.

_Today will end, eventually…_He knew, that tomorrow was just the beginning of his own journey.

* * *

><p>When she woke up, Lux felt the soft texture of the blanket above her, realizing that it must have been him. After her search for Vladimir in and outside the temple came out nothing, she couldn't deny the fact that he must have left. Without goodbyes.<p>

So it would always end like this. Why was it that everything she held dear just seemed to slip away from her? First Jarvan, Vayne, now him… She couldn't get hold of them, and now she's empty, there was only one place she could return to. Home.

She swallowed hard, accepted the fact. And left the rest of all to fate.

Back to Demacia, she had no idea of how long she had travelled. She only remembered walking, riding, teleporting, emotionless and lifeless like a corpse. When she snapped back to reality, she saw her big brother, Garen, standing outside her bedroom. Upon seeing her he immediately ceased her shoulders hard and yelled at her.

"Luxanna Crownguard, where on Valoran have you been for the past few days? Didn't I tell you to stay home, take care of mom and dad, and to not do anything reckless? Didn't I?"

She shook him off and refuted, "Why would you care, brother? It's my life and I'll do what I want with it. Shouldn't you be at war anyway?"

"How could you…. Luxanna Crownguard, the war has ended. The prince has returned with captured traitors who are willing to give a testimony on other traitors. Do you have any idea what they said?"

"What does it have to do with –"

"It was you, Lux! You have been contacting with a Noxian, haven't you? Why Lux… what have you done?"

She watched her brother's disappointed face and immediately knew that the apocalypse was near.


	16. Cast Away

**Disclaimer: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RIOT GAMES.**

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><p><em>"Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer;<em>  
><em>Hard to be soft, tough to be tender.<em>  
><em>Come take my pulse, the pace is on a runaway train."<em>

_"Help I'm Alive" by Metric_

"... A Noxian?" Shocked, Lux looked at her furious brother, unable to think. Traitor, Her; Noxian, Vladimir. They knew. Next would be her parents, and then the Crown, and then the entire Demacia. She would receive final salvation from the steady hand of the guillotine.

"Jarvan told me everything, but…" He unsheathed his sword and struck it to the ground, holding it steady with both hands wrapped around the handle – a signature move of him whenever giving judgment towards a disobedient soldier, only this time she wasn't the observer.

She felt her blood ran cold. _Jarvan?... _

"Are you going to deliver me to the Head Warden, Garen?" She felt her mouth form the words on their own, opening and closing as her mind drifted off.

Her brother spoke while staring at her with brows so furrowed as if he was in great pain. "No. Should I ever find you guilty of treason, I promise you, Lux: I would rather execute you myself than watching you shame our family with your blood on the guillotine."

She felt the sourness crawling up her nose again, but she fought it back; She wouldn't allow it to overflow this time, her Pride did not allow her to.

Garen released his hold around the handle and sheathed his sword swiftly. "Get inside your room." She obeyed and walked pass him, eyes to the ground until her table full of paper crafts came in view.

She sat down next to it and toyed with a red paper rose carelessly. Garen followed and locked the door behind him with a heavy sigh.

"Why?" She kept her eyes on the rose as he asked, "I need to know why Lux, why is this happening?"

Silence was the only answer she could give him, after all, what else could she say? Garen wanted more than a reason; He wanted a name. And she could never give him that.

"No why." She swallowed, making up words as she went along. "I just wanted some time on my own."

"On your own!" He went ablaze with anger. "You were not alone! Who was that man?" She bit her lower lip and tried to avoid Garen's scorching gaze.

"A friend." Her voice trembled as Garen pressed on with his interrogation. "Just a friend."

He shook his head in disappointment as he spoke, "You…you embarrass me with your poor choice of friends, Luxanna. And now because of what you've done, I am the one who must clean up your dirty mess!"

"I never asked you to!" She lifted her head and stare at her brother. Tears felt like fire burning her blurred vision, her head started to hurt. "Garen I never asked you to!"

But her brother just sighed at her before he unlocked the door and stormed out, leaving the poor girl sobbing alone and regretting the things she had done.

Hours had passed. Lux glanced wearily to the window, spotting the first hue of deep blue taking over the sky. Her eyes were sore and dry from weeping. She sat there with a dozen of new paper cranes on the desk; their eyeless heads seemed to be observing their creator silently, watching her brows flex then relax, followed by a sigh.

"Vladimir…" She whispered his name as low as possible, it brought her hope somehow. The thought of where he might be and what he was doing overwhelmed her, causing her heart to pound against her chest, louder and louder. Every ticking second felt… empty, like drops of water falling into the pond, but soundless. In the comparison of outer serenity and inner chaos she realized that she had fallen for him.

Yet there was denial. _No, not him… anyone but Him. _She brought her knees up and rounded them in her arms. _Lord, why is this happening to me?_

She couldn't fight it, his words were sweet toxic to her. Every time he spoke with that deep, throaty voice… every time he grinned, the movement of his brows, and the hidden intention behind those crimson eyes only made her sink deeper. It was like being stuck in quick sand; The more she fought, the more she fell. Vladimir was Pandora's box, only that she knew of what lay behind the refined exteriors, of the danger and risks; yet opening it was still her first impulse.

She got up and walked towards her twistwood wardrobe, grabbing a set of pajamas out carelessly as her mind hoped for a peaceful sleep to cast all her troubles away. When she turned around, she jumped when she found Garen in his tunics, standing next to her door. Even without his armor, the hard look on his face still marked him a fighter.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him towards the bathroom. "What now…?"

"Pack your things, you're leaving to Piltover tomorrow morning."

She turned around abruptly. "What?"

"I said," Her brother dropped two knapsacks on her bed, "Pack up, go to sleep. Tomorrow you're leaving to Piltover with the morning caravan."

"I'm not going!" She sat down on her bed, arms crossed in front of her chest stubbornly, "Garen I am not going anywhere!"

"I will not repeat myself, Luxanna. Father and mother already agreed. You will still be able to participate in the League over there." He turned around and left without goodnight, shutting the door of Lux's room and cutting her off with the rest of the world again.

"I am not…going anywhere…" A whimper escaped her throat before she clinched her fists and pounded them hard into the springy mattress of her bed, the impact less satisfying than she thought it would. She pounded into it again and again, the sound of the mattress drumming her ears but her frustration blocked out most of her senses. She was a child in tantrum, the kind when you know your mere power cannot top the absolute authority of your parents, and God how much she hated her parents right now.

_Hmph_. She smiled faintly to herself, _They want me to leave? Fine, I will leave_. With the knapsacks at her side, she picked them up and began packing in a speedy manner. _I will leave and I will never come back! _

Something snapped between her fingers while she was dropping things into the knapsacks like a whirlwind. She paused as her blood ran cold; she knew what it was, but she prayed otherwise. Slowly turning her gaze downward, she saw it – a detached pendant with several beautiful blue gems on it, and between her careless fingers was the delicate, broken chain. It was the precious necklace that belonged to her grandma Aurora.

"N-No! No no no no no…" She took the pendant in her other hand and stared at the mess she made. Tears flooded her eyes once more. "Grandma…...I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." She held them in her fists protectively as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I will never leave you here… forgive me…"

After she recovered from weeping, Lux quickly found an empty jewel box to contain the broken pieces and stashed it inside the knapsack along with her personal belongings. She promised to find someone to fix it in Piltover. After all, Piltover is the monument of Technology in Valoran.

_At least one thing to look forward to in this trip_, She thought to herself quietly before putting the sacks away and getting into her bed.

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><p><strong>AN ububububu rolling back after a long, long hiatus. Let the story and reviews continue. :)**


	17. Meeting the Angel

**Disclaimer: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RIOT GAMES.**

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><p><em>"But we're never gonna survive, unless… we get a little crazy."<em>

_– "Crazy" by Alanis Morissette_

Passing through the underground labyrinths of Black Rose's secret excavation site in the outskirts of Demacia, Vladimir was forced into an exciting mood by an unspeakable atmosphere around this place. It seeped through the dirt walls around him, something that smelled ancient, comparable to a vintage bottle of blood, kept alive and fresh by the power of dark hemomancy.

"How much longer?" His voice was dry from thirst, the earlier liquor he had with the bartender was to blame. Although he would love some water to drink, right now what really tickled his throat was the dangling bottles of hemomancer essences around LeBlanc's body, levitated by her magic.

"Not much longer, dear. I will fulfill my end of our deal once we arrive." She stated blankly, the usual playful tone gone from her voice. Vladimir understood the reason behind her sudden change of character immediately because he _felt_ it. _It_.

There was no simple way to put the immense link he had just established with _It_. It wasn't empathy, it felt more like he was being tethered by an invisible arm, pulling him closer and closer into an embrace while calling out to him, whispering his name.

He was completely taken away by the voice such that he did not notice the woman next to him had halted her steps. On her face a satisfied grin, for she recognized the look on his face. Leblanc knew that Vladimir was the one the creature wanted, and from his look she knew she was right all along.

The Crimson Reaper continued forward and found himself in a much larger cave, its walls were coated by a strange, slime like substance. Strangely though, the cave to him somehow resembled a nest, or an egg, and he realized that it must had been here for decades…centuries, even.

His eyes wondered around the dim cave as Leblanc caught up to him and ordered her followers to re-ignite the torches on the ground. "Forgive me, Vladimir. Our Angel dislikes light in any form." She walked to a quickly set up work table nearby and relocated the phylacteries around her. "You are the only one that can hear it. Talk to it… find out what it wants. More importantly, ask it if it's possible to lend aid to the Black Rose in our upcoming agenda."

He nodded and shifted his gaze towards the center of the cave, his eyes widened.

The light emitting from the torches outlined the creature's half complete figure, which somehow resembled half of a man's body while the other half was still a tight, indistinguishable pillar of flesh that extended all the way to the roof of the cave. Its face, half of it at least, was incomplete for its lack of eyes and ears. Its mouth looked more like someone had carelessly carved a hole and just left it there. This was no angel, it was a twisted creature of dark magic.

A soft moan caught his attention as he spotted the dark form below the creature. "What…" It spoke quietly, a woman, seemed to have just woke up. Vladimir approached and she flinched with one of her arms raised, pointing a fist at him; her body tensed up, alarmed. As she recoiled Vladimir grinned, recognizing the dirt covered face under the torch light.

"Ah, Night Hunter. So you are here." He tapped her arm playfully and watched her growl before lowering it. She couldn't do anything with her weapons disarmed long ago and her other hand chained to the base of a torch. "What a strange coincidence." He masked his confusion with his usual sarcastic tone; deep in the back of his mind he was connecting the pieces of information together. Black Rose, LeBlanc, Vayne, War, The Angel.

"Not a coincidence, Vladimir. The Angel needs a lovely sacrifice for her to be able to walk the earth again." LeBlanc's voice came behind him, "Converse with the Blood for us, please."

He shifted his attention from Vayne back to the ugly creature above and concentrated on the whispers he heard earlier.

"_Vladimir."_

"_Come…Closer. Vladimir…and Dmitri."_

His eyes widened. "Dmitri…" At the same time he felt his blood grew active under its command, it was the part of Dmitri inside him responding to the call. "What are you?"

"_I am the first of Valoran's blood, the Keeper of Blood. I was banished by Our Father to the underground, stripped away of my ability to watch the blood flow of the species."_

_Ah, of course. _Vladimir remembered, he had once read a similar chapter in his library on ancient deities. He didn't pay much attention to it and dismissed it like any other atheists, but it seemed now the joke's on him.

"…_And since then the Crimson Reapers, who stole a part of my magic, roamed the surface in my name, collecting and pooling the blood for their own lusts of power." _The creature's words sent chills down his spine, but it was the good kind.

In between its words, Vladimir heard LeBlanc's questioning as to what they were talking about, but he ignored it and pressed on. "And why is it that my presence is required, Keeper?"

The creature whispered a few more words before falling into silence.

Vladimir stood still for a while before turning around, his eyes glimmered as he spoke lowly, "As you wish."

He saw LeBlanc's small smile when he started channeling a spell that would make his essence powerful enough to withdraw the blood from the creature. As soon as the preparation was done, the blood orb hung above the pillar of flesh and latched itself onto the center of the creature. From his enhanced vision Vladimir could see the ancient dark blood being transferred into his essence and filling it up quickly. At the same time a strange vibration shot through the air that surrounded them, he felt the others stumbled backwards in self-preservation, only he stood still, eyes never leaving his growing essence as his breath grew heavy. In his mind he imagined himself between the high tides of blood, waiting patiently, waiting for it to build up higher and higher before finally crashing down and consuming him, drowning him in this new found power.

Oh, how much he wanted it all to himself! Rest assured, he knew he would never encounter such an ecstatic feeling again, but he couldn't betray the Keeper… he knew better to not anger the creature now that he had a taste of its hidden magic.

He took in a deep breath and let out a short chuckle. "Embrace what you detest the most now, Night Hunter." His glowing eyes narrowed with a vicious smile.

Vayne glanced over at the essence that was slowly descending towards her direction and came to sudden realization. "NO! Don't you dare touch me!"

The chains clicked and rustled as she struggled to free her other hand. Her strained yelling echoed off the fleshy walls of the cave; A beast making its final fight against the approaching death, desperate and frantic.

The large orb shrank and slipped inside her mouth as she chocked, her voice cut off abruptly. Vladimir watched emotionlessly as the red disappeared into her body. She leaned over the ground and started retching violently, forcing herself to puke out the disgusting thing. It was putting her through something a thousand times worse than Hell, she could even feel the organism moving through her body and altering her blood vessels. She would kill herself, if only she had the means to do so.

Merely moments later, she blacked out. She could not continue the fight anymore, not when the evil is within her. She had failed, she would wake up as something she hated the most, she would become the vessel of evil.

"Now she can talk to us." LeBlanc approached Vladimir from behind, gazing at the motionless Vayne.

"It wasn't a peaceful transition, Deceiver. I suppose you were entertained?" He turned to her, but his eyes were staring at the bottles on the worktable hungrily. He wanted them even more after getting a hold of the Angel's blood magic.

A loud shattering sound interrupted their conversation, the two returned their attention to Vayne. The body stood up slowly, revealing her glowing red eyes as she took the shades off elegantly. The broken chain lay at her feet, she stepped around it and moved towards them.

"I thank you for your assistance in bringing me a proper and fit vessel, along with the Reaper." She nodded at LeBlanc, her voice kept the original tone of Vayne's, but the great change in her demeanor made it clear that Vayne was gone, or locked up inside the body. Vladimir knew the Keeper had turned Vayne into its flesh puppet, and strangely enough, It seemed to be controlling the blood flow of everyone around as well; The kind of mass life manipulation he had never seen in any hemomancers. _Perhaps It really is a deity…_

"You've kept your promises, and now I shall return the favor." Vayne tilted her head towards Vladimir, observing the youngling with the eyes of an ancient soul. "As for you, Reaper, you have much to learn of the Hemocraft you hoard."

Vladimir stayed quiet, the rapture of tasting the blood magic of the Keeper had slowly died down. His rational part returned as he was more concerned about the real Vayne now, and how he would break the unfortunate news to Lux.

Maybe he wouldn't need to. Maybe he wouldn't get a chance to.

The thought of if he would ever see Lux again crossed his mind for a split second before the Keeper spoke in a haunting voice, "Claim your phylacteries. We will stand together to witness the purging of the Blood."

An eerie smile twisted Vayne's ever-tranquil face, "I know your plans, Deceiver. I might not been able to converse with you but I could read it in your blood; You have had it brewing for a long time, and today we shall carry it out."

LeBlanc was amused, yet she remained humble and bowed to Vayne. "I will prepare my troops."

A tremor came, causing some rocks to jump out of place inside the cave. A careless comment thrown by LeBlanc finally disturbed Vladimir's peace of mind.

"My my, let's hope the quake doesn't tear down Demacia before we do."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**What's going to happen?! *gasps* We shall see in the next chaps :) Sit tight till then and leave a review if you wish, thank you!**


	18. Piltover

_**Disclaimer: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RIOT GAMES.  
><strong>_

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><p><em>"Oh, I don't know what to do, about this dream and you; I wish this dream comes true." – "Digital Love" by Daft Punk<br>__  
><em>

The carriage shook violently as the earth beneath it quaked. Lux watched the buildings of Demacia recede in her view, finally blocked by the heavy roofs of the trees as the caravan ventured into the eastern forest. It was a good day for travelling. Clear skies above and fresh soil beneath, had it actually been a trip for her maybe she would have felt differently. It was an exile, even though it was dated; No one else would understand beside the Exiled herself.

They passed by a few guard posts that marked their mileage as Lux peeked out the small window of the carriage and squinted her eyes slightly from the sun. She could hear birds chirping atop of the trees, hidden by the dense leaves of Evergreens.

She shut her eyes and imagined as the sunlight turned to cold, bringing her back to the night when she walked through the forest with Vladimir; The hungry, yellow eyes of wolves and distant howling… it all seemed so long ago. She opened her eyes and the world returned to her.

No darkness, no star lights calling out to the moon and other siblings, no stranger's hand to guide her. For a moment she felt completely alone, as if the entire universe had ceased to run and her thoughts were the only thing proving the existence of Time.

But it was all a daydream, wasn't it? She questioned herself as the vibrant colors of the world around her returned. _We cannot be together, _She sighed and smiled wearily. Love does have its ways of deceiving the rational mind, fooling one into believing and into hoping for the impossible. Even if she wasn't a Demacian, even if he wasn't born Noxian, could they still survive other conflicts?

He kills people. He enjoyed the process. These were things she couldn't neglect, but if there was a little _something_ that can prove that he was able of caring…

_There you go again, Luxanna. _ She groaned in frustration and buried her face in her palms. _ Excuses, excuses, excuses for him. He's a monster, and you are not a saint. _

She opened her hands and stared into them. "What do you want…" She couldn't make sense of her own feelings, tugging and pulling on them only made more mess. Perhaps it's just best to not think of them at all and slip into a blissful coma.

_If only something will happen and change us… if only. _

And, with that thought, the Lady of Luminosity fell asleep as the caravan went onwards with their journey.

* * *

><p>When she woke, she was woken by the steaming whistles of the Skyport. She quickly drew a cape over herself and stepped out the carriage as the caravan stopped and began to unload the goods and passengers, preparing for departure. Her blue eyes traced the magnificent outline of the Ironspike Mountains, the natural barrier that isolated Piltover and Zaun from the rest of Valoran, as it stretched out to the far north. The Skyport was built as a mean of transportation between the two city-states and the others.<p>

The port itself was almost half as tall as the mountain. Hearing the whistle again, Lux looked up and saw the zeppelins arrive and leave the platforms, precise like clockworks. She watched as one levitated off the platform exactly fifteen minutes after arrival and kept going up until it was about the size of an ant to her when it finally headed towards the mountain and crossed it.

"My lady, we are moving now." A merchant reminded her as he fastened the last of the goods on his steed, giving it a pat.

She smiled back and readied her knapsacks before following. It was getting colder, and by the time they reached the top of the port, her ears and finger tips are turning numb from the howling wind.

The group got into the zeppelin quickly as the leader made his last headcount. They gathered around an oil lamp inside, telling stories and sharing gossips. Lux took out a few pieces of bread and a can of ham for meal, listening to the merchants as time passed. They were not the only passengers on this particular zeppelin, on the other end of the cabin Lux recognized a group of Noxian merchants, with a few Zaunians among them. Neither group made contact during the entire trip, but conversations were controlled with minimum volume for fear of eavesdropping.

Many of the Demacians were concerned about the aftermath of this recent war. Some speculated worsened trade between regions; others laughed at their insecurities and reassured their fellow merchants that as long as there were money to be made, things will always turn out okay.

Occasionally someone would recognize Lux as their Champion and toast her, to which she would return the gesture with respect and spoil a little insights of the Institute on current events. She noticed that at heart, these men and women didn't really care about what tomorrow may bring. As far as they cared, waking up alive to another beautiful day was enough bless. They made life sound simple to her, but she wonder really if it was because she didn't know the truth behind their smiling faces.

Soon, they arrived at the port at Piltover. Lux and her group hurried out of the cabin before the Noxians. When she stepped out, she was amazed by the sight of Piltover: Skyscrapers dominated the upper city, functioning as a vertical axis as the buildings in the lower city were distributed like dots inside a perfect circle. The port was located in the upper city, after unloading their luggages they were required to go through the customs for tariffs and security checks. Lux said farewell to her group at this point and proceeded alone into the city.

According to the itinerary that Garen had planned out for her, she was supposed to report to the League office at Piltover as soon as she arrives. Still not over herself, she purposely avoided doing as he told and went on for an adventure in the upper city.

Lux walked on a large bridge that was made from what seemed like fortified glass, she could look down and see the streets below, a few strange looking vehicles occasionally passing by. She kept herself busy walking and observing the city's great structures, some of them had their surfaces damaged and revealed the electronic circuits that wired the insides of the building. Everything was so…advanced, but so empty too. She continued to follow the bridge's path, determined to take a full-circle tour of the upper city before doing what her brother asked her to do.

By the time she returned to her point of origin, she was disappointed that Piltover wasn't as populated as she had imagined. Throughout the tour she only saw one or two residents, both of them hurried past her on the bridge as if they were late for some kind of meeting.

_Maybe it's because everyone's busy studying? _She heard about the yordle academy in Piltover, it's one of the most prestigious institutions for scholars pursuing knowledge in technology and innovative ideas. _Perhaps the lower city will be more populated. _ She wondered to herself as she finally went to register her arrival.

The process took longer than she expected, then again, the League staff weren't exactly quick on their feet often. She was shown her temporary dorm, where to go to participate in matches, and some general directions of Piltover. When she exited the building, she was again surprised by the City of Progress.

It was just past dusk, the small fishing boats were slowly returning to the docks below. The moon was rising from the eastern seas as it covered the forests around Piltover in its silver brilliance. What was more to it though, was the suddenly crowded bridge, filled with people singing and dancing to a rhythm she had been hearing the moment she came out of the building. The atmosphere around her exploded with excitement. She shifted her gaze to above and saw the small pods of neon lights radiated as they revolved around the top of the tallest tower, sometimes rapid sometimes slow, changing their light sequences as well as their radius to the tower as they moved. Music filled the air around them. Laugher. Celebration.

Screens that weren't visible during the day appeared on the surfaces of buildings with portable speakers around them, Lux realized what the circuits inside the walls were for as she saw them. On the screen she could see two masked men that looked like robots working around a table with dozens of buttons on it. Hearing the crowd sing to them, she figured out the two were the musicians producing the beats and rhythms around the city. _"Last night, I had a dream about you; In this dream, I'm dancing right beside you…" _She heard the lyrics and repeated it to herself silently. The scene of Piltover in the evening lifted her gloom and allowed her to simply enjoy the music and the atmosphere around her; What's there to lose? Maybe this is the change that she longed for, a release from her emotional jail.

She mingled into the crowd and found herself moving slightly to the music. Was she really dancing? She blushed at the thought and stopped herself. _If only he was here. _ She stared ahead and imagined Vladimir emerging from the sea of people and pushing towards her side, offering her a hand, the usual smirk on his face.

_Would you like to dance?_

_Yes, of course._

"…Of course." She whispered to herself and sighed as she shook her head, the illusion of him dispersed as she walked through it, suddenly wanting no part of this celebration anymore.

She escaped and went down to the lower city via an elevator. After learning about a jewelry shop in a district of the lower city she decided to go and see if she could get Grandma's necklace fixed. As she travelled down the streets lit by star rods, she looked back up at the platform and the upper city above it, still radiating lights of joy and booming music, picturing a contrast to the quiet lower city.

She tugged on the bell and went inside the store. "Hello?" An old yordle turned his head towards her at the sound and coughed gently.

"Come in. Making a purchase?"

"Oh, umm," She took out the broken pieces from her pocket and laid it on his counter, "I was hoping if you could repair this."

The yordle put on his magnifying glass and took a close look at the pieces. "It's quite antique, I'd say dating back to the second rune war. Judging from the patterns and exterior I would guess you took good care of it until…" He sighed and lifted the broken chain for her to see, "Until this happened."

She nodded and pouted, "I was careless."

"Hmm."

He jumped off the tall stool and disappeared behind the tall counters. Lux tried to follow him with her gaze, even tip-toeing a bit. When he suddenly reappeared on the stool in front of her, she dropped her heels immediately and turned to him.

"Let's see…" The yordle opened his small box and picked out a few handy and tiny tools to begin the repair process. He was concentrating on the necklace as Lux tried to initiate a conversation.

"It was my Grandma's. It was the only thing she left for me."

The yordle muttered, "I could imagine the importance."

Lux opened her mouth, but she wasn't sure what else to tell him. The elder didn't feel like the talkative kind to her.

Just as she was about to wonder off to browse the glass cases, he spoke to her.

"I'm flattered to see someone travel this far only to repair something like this." He reached out to the lamp on the counter and adjusted the light. "Young people like you who still hold family as an important part of their lives are rare nowadays. Rare."

She smiled bitterly, being reminded of the reason she was sent on this trip. "Family can be troublesome at times."

"That it is, especially when you have a son who knows no better than meddling with dangerous magic all the time." He grunted, "I told him that if he ever touches that damned thing again I would lock him up until he comes to his senses… alas, I cannot best his determination. As much as I am disappointed, there isn't a single day I wasn't… thinking about him."

She watched the yordle finish his delicate work on the necklace and putting everything back in place. "He is my son, after all. And I love him more than anything." The yordle smiled at her and handed her the pendant, looking good as new.

"Even if he forgets his old man at times… I still hope to hear the bell someday and find him right here."

Lux stared into the bright sapphire gems of the necklace and listened quietly. She wondered if her parents saw her the same way, a wayward daughter who just didn't know better; She wondered if they too, worry about her and pray for her safety day and night.

When she snapped out of her thoughts, the yordle had turned off the lamp and jumped off the stool again.

"W-wait, how much do I owe you?" She quickly inquired and brought out her purse.

"Don't worry about it my dear. Just promise the old yordle that you would always look after your family, and that you'd remember them."

She heard a door shut and the store was quiet. Slowly lowering her hands, she put the purse and the necklace back in her pocket and left the store with much thought to ponder.

That night, she dreamt of Aurora. They were sitting in a nest of feathers, her Grandma weaving her blonde strands into braids and singing to her. Lux closed her eyes at the pleasant feeling and hummed along, but the lullaby was interrupted abruptly. She opened her eyes and found her grandma's bloodied body next to her. Aurora's blood colored the feathers around them as Lux screamed, a bloody hand covered her mouth from behind and pulled her back into complete redness. She frantically fought, but she heard the creature laugh before bathing her in the blood of her kin.

She woke in panic the next morning and felt like as if she didn't sleep at all. After dressing up, she heard knocks on her door and went to open it. A staff stared at her with a solemn look on his face. She asked him what was wrong, and the answer was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"Lady… There had been an invasion in your home state."

* * *

><p><strong>AN** ** From this chapter on things might get a little bit more fast paced, mainly because of all the things that are going down. But worry not! I will update asap and meanwhile sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster ride. A big thank you to all those who left reviews during my hiatus, you guys rock! Thank you for fav'ing this story and sticking around :) Your patience will be rewarded...with BLOOD, muahaha!**


	19. When You Fall

**Disclaimer: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RIOT GAMES.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>"The colors conflicted,<em>  
><em>As the flames climbed into the clouds.<em>  
><em>I wanted to fix this,<em>  
><em>But couldn't stop from tearing it down."<em>

_- "Burn It Down" by Linkin Park_

"Alessa, stop fooling around with Uncle Tyler." A middle-aged woman shook her head at the little girl with pigtails in disapproval. She was just about to go to the market place to pick up some left-overs from the family stall for dinner, bringing her brother and daughter along for company.

The little girl ran ahead and giggled, she was a little shorter than an average yordle. Her uncle hurried up behind to keep an eye out for the child. The woman gazed up, her smile faded, turning into a frown as she noticed an unusual hue of red that tainted the clouds; it was darker and denser than it should be. Dismissing her confusion with a soft sigh, she continued walking towards her destination, failing to notice that her daughter had disappeared until a few seconds later.

"Alessa?"

She heard a scream; knowing whom it belonged to sent chills of horror down her spine. The basket was tossed aside as she started to run.

"Tyler! Alessa!"

Around the corner she found her brother, who stood still in shock, and not too far away, the body of her daughter on the ground.

Her knees gave out. She opened her mouth but there was no sound, as if a hand had strangled her neck, or a blade that had slit her throat. Behind the girl's body emerged three fully armed men. She watched them move, her eyes were blurred by tears, but she could still recognize the malicious green that shone off the crests they wore.

_Noxians._

Her ears caught another distant scream, several in fact, along with the clattering of metal. She closed her eyes as the soldiers came up. The whispers of prayer did not reach the Heavens in time as the cold blade was brought down on her.

* * *

><p>A fist smashed on the wooden table as the messenger finished reading the letter containing dire news.<p>

"Absurd! We've never ordered such assult!"

"Calm down, General. We must examine this matter with a clear mind." Jericho Swain, the new Grand General of Noxus, shifted his pose in his chair slightly after hearing the news. His loyal pet Beatrice resting on one of the shoulder plates in silence.

"Grand General, this is clearly a set up of those Demacian rats! I will not sit by and watch them do this!" The enraged General continued.

"If you insult them as rats, General, then I must remind you that even giants may fall to little rodents if they are being careless." Swain's words put a leash around the General's barking as the man finally sat back down with a grunt.

Swain watched the council of his most trusted Generals and soldiers for a moment, moving his gaze from one face to another, studying. "We must find out whoever pinned this act on the High Command. Expect the League to be breathing down with threats meanwhile."

"The League knows nothing. They are a flock of harlequins." Darius wrinkled his nose, "They will hold it against us by all means to restore that little trust they've lost with Demacia back in Kalamanda."

"I will not expect otherwise, Darius. If another war starts because of this, they will be forced to play the same trick twice in order to maintain… 'peace.'"

"What do we do then, just let them do as they wish? Demacia will not let this go that easily!" The previous General began again, but the red-haired Du Couteau quickly stopped him with a blade to his neck, applying just enough pressure for the General to shut up. He swallowed very carefully and instantly turtled into the chair.

"The League will have to prevent direct violence and play nice. I say we find the one that orchestrated this charade quickly and give Demacia the culprit they wanted." Katarina lifted her blade from the General's throat and began fiddling with it, waiting for Swain's opinion.

"As if _we _are not the culprit they wanted." snorted Darius.

"I want to know who those soldiers were and how many Demacian's were killed," Swain grabbed his cane and stood up shakily, "If Vessaria Kolminye wishes to speak, inform me at once. Stay strong, we will not back down on this matter."

The council was dismissed in silence as Swain made his way back to his personal chamber. Beatrice kept its red eyes on its master, seemingly interested.

"It has begun. She's succeeded, 'Trice."

Behind his mask a smile bloomed.

* * *

><p><em>Let me in…let me in…let me in…let me in…<em>

_Vladimir…_

_Give me more… more… give me…_

_Let it consume you…_

Vladimir smirked at his new found power. He could hear Dmitri's whispers, never this loud before. After fusing all of the hemomancer essences into his own, he felt as if he had just woke from a dream of his past life.

All that he had mastered before… all that he had learned from Dmitri… seemed so insignificant compared to what he had now; He was ten times stronger. The Angel asked him to test his powers, and he did so; he made a man explode inside-out by merely willing the blood to do so. He could even perform his magic without the help of his essence now.

"How does it feel like to be the most powerful hemomancer?" The possessed Vayne asked him emotionlessly as they watched the city of Demacia in turmoil from a hill. The reanimated corpses dressed in Noxian military uniform were invading the city from different entrances; front gate, sewers, side gates. There weren't many of them, but these unkillable zombies marched into the city and shattered Demacia's defences effortlessly.

Vladimir smiled and watched as the Demacian soldiers fell one by one under the siege of the Angel's flesh puppets. "Exhilarating." He replied simply, any word would fail to describe his condition at this moment.

Just a while ago, he was slightly concerned about what they would do to stir Demacia. He had thought of Lux and if any harm would come to her during the process. Not seeing the familiar blazing light magic of hers in the middle of fights, he knew she wasn't in the city. However, these concerns all seemed so trivial to him, as if she was only a stranger who happened to be a resident in this unfortunate city.

_Where is she?..._

_Maybe she had died._

He sent that thought away immediately like how he would shoo away a pestering fly, yet it kept coming back to him. He realized that it was Dmitri who kept bringing it back on purpose.

_She's not in Demacia._

_You wouldn't know now, would you?_

_I know._

_She is dead. Like the rest of them._

_No._

_Why deny? You know it makes you feel good._

Vladimir let out an annoyed sigh. It didn't make him feel good knowing that she might be dead… did it? He began to question his feelings. What was she to him really? Luxanna Crownguard, Demacian, Lady of Luminosity. But wait, there was more… he felt more for her, he knew; he just couldn't name them right now.

He must have locked them somewhere too safe for him to exhume again, then lost the key as well.

He wanted them back. He never knew he would miss those feelings after he had completed his quest for power. It seemed like he was right about himself all along; always greedy for more, for bloodshed, and for her love. He wanted to break her into pieces so he could understand what she was made of. He wanted to have control over her heart and soul, not just her blood.

_So insatiable… and manipulative. You make me proud._

_I am not manipulative._

_What will you do if you see her again, Vladimir?_

He paused and sank into his thoughts again. What could he do? Comfort her? Tell her that he was a part of this invasion too? He doubted that she would ever look at him the same way again.

"I am bored. It seemed enough work for now." Vayne's voice interrupted his thinking as he turned to her. The Night Hunter lifted one of her hands and chanted a spell that instantly made all of her flesh puppets fell down, ending their service.

"This will be the termination of my agreement with your Matron, Reaper. From now on I will no longer interfere with your affairs… but I must say that the mortal world is getting interesting, I may stay to see this through." She smiled and began walking away.

Vladimir hurried and followed her. "Where will you go?"

"Before my true form is completed, I am stuck inside this body. I have the memories of its owner, so I suppose I would indulge myself in a few of your mortal games." The hunter released the ties around her long hair as it fell down to her ankle. "We haven't been active in this world for a long time." The breeze from the ocean brought the scent of the slaughter in the city, it made the hunter smile.

"We?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow and continued in her path, enjoying the breeze as well. They approached the shoreline slowly. "You mean the First and the Second Angels?"

"You thought we were myths, didn't you?" She grinned at him, still utterly out of character for Vayne to him. "Our father created us and this world. It was to be his masterpiece, but he saw the flaws like we all did, and decided to right his wrongs."

"Mortals abused the life I gave to them, the sacred fluid that animated them. They used magic to destroy this world instead of maintaining it, so the war began." She stopped at the shore and watched the tranquil sea for a while, "There were five days without Light. The nature withered and the world was in complete darkness, but they survived. The First Angel was the most compassionate, so He took off his veil and let his brilliance shine once more."

Vladimir listened quietly in amazement. _The compassionate Light… _the thought of the golden locks of hers and the radiance of her smile crossed his mind.

"With the First bring life back again, the Second Angel made the trees grew, purified the waters, and restored the natural order of the world," She let out a sigh and shook her head, "But I refused to comply. I threatened to take back the fluid of life, and that was when they fought against me and sealed me deep into the ground."

"…What do you want now, then?" Vladimir asked carefully, although he already half-guessed the answer.

Without answering, she just smiled faintly at the Crimson Reaper before jumping into the ocean, disappearing in the red sunset.

* * *

><p>That night, Lux arrived as soon as possible. When she saw the damage that had been done to her home, tears streamed down and stained her face. Walking through the market place remnants, she saw mourning mothers and crying children, soldiers that carried bodies and loaded them onto carts with solemn faces, along with those that collected crests of their fallen comrades…<p>

_Why is this happening…?_

In between the chaos, her thoughts turned to her family. She remembered that dream and became alerted, picking up her speed she ran to her house immediately. _ Please don't let anything happen to them…_

She rushed upstairs, "Garen? Mother? Father?"

When no reply came, the fear inside her grew and pressured to snap the last sanity in her.

"M..Ms. Crownguard."

"Regan!" She saw the wounded guard on the ground and went to his side. When she saw the damage on his body, she turned away, unable to watch him bleed out with each breath. "What happened…" All she could do was to put her hands over the hollow on his chest; She could not relieve the pain for him.

"Noxians…" He was choking on his blood, but he was determined to tell her, to reassure her. "Your family…is safe."

A heavy burden was removed from her with a sigh. Her family was okay.

"Blood… magic." Regan grabbed her hand; the light in his eyes was fading.

"What?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Regan, who did this?" _It can't be… _She couldn't believe that all of this slaughter… all of this bloodshed, was because of Him.

Unable to speak anymore, the guard nodded at her before his gaze turned still. His body stopped twitching and his hand fell from hers. Lux whimpered and closed her eyes as tears rolled down. She lifted her blood-stained hands and stared into them, stared into the redness. She thought she saw Vladimir's face in the pool of red gathering at her feet, and it drew a loud cry of despair from her.

_How could he do this to me?_

_Not him….anyone….but him…_

She didn't realize she was pulling at her hair with her dirty hands until someone pulled her off the ground and held her in his arms. Through her watery eyes she could see the familiar pattern of Garen's armor.

"Garen…" She wept into her brother, half expecting him to give her another lecture but he didn't.

"Regan protected mother and father." Garen's voice was cold and very unlike him, "Damned Noxians and their magic."

She listened and closed her eyes; the weeping was giving her a headache, and right now she just wanted someone to hold onto.

"You shouldn't have come back." Garen sighed and let her go.

"I can't just stay there while Demacia's in danger." She frowned at him. "Are you going to blame this attack on me too?"

He stared at her silently with the same blue eyes, seemingly judging her but really just surprised that she would think of that.

"I knew it." Lux shook her head. The last faith she had in him had disappeared; Garen never cared about her, all he cared about was Demacia. "I will find the one who did this, and I will show you what shame it is to not even be able to trust your little sister."

She wiped her tears away and ran out of the house. There was only one place she wanted to go right now.

_Vladimir._

She brought her baton and clutched it tightly in her stained hands.


	20. Clarity

**DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RIOT GAMES.**

* * *

><p><em>"If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?<em>  
><em>If our love is insanity, why are you my clarity?"<em>

_- "Clarity" by Zedd_

He was standing at the altar in the middle of the temple when he heard a loud bang, immediately followed by a blaze of light that burnt through the wooden door and created a large hole; its edges sizzled and darkened, crisp from the powerful magic. The intruder stepped in, hurried heels echoed throughout the temple, and finally, came to a stop behind him.

"Why?!"

Vladimir turned around. He saw the immense sadness and anger in her eyes; those blue eyes that he adored now projected only negative emotions and the torment of the soul behind them. They were made of the melted heat of poisonous mercury, leaking into his heart and burning him. Her armor was stained by a mixture of dirt, mud, and blood. Her face had a fair share, too, with an addition of tears that had ceased to flow. He realized that she had travelled for three days, Demacia to Tempest Flats, only for him.

And the first question struck him as if a dream came true, a bad dream. What had he done? How could he forget?...

It's been three days since he became the most powerful hemomancer in Valoran.

Three days since he watched her home being destroyed by the vilest of blood magic.

Three days since he last thought of her.

She was silent. A stiff upper lip and slightly shivering figure revealed how hard she was trying to not break down in front of him. Her eyes turned cold, freezing and grasping the void in him which should have been filled with conscience and hoping to fill it with something... _anything_.

"I did not kill your people."

"LIAR!"

She screamed and pointed her baton at his chest, the tip of it crowning the light that was flickering weaker and weaker; she simply didn't have enough stamina to perform magic anymore, not after the long trip and the constant mental torture.

Vladimir pushed aside the rod gently, "I tell the truth."

"No… no you lie…" She finally broke as the baton was dropped from her loosened grip, "No…It was you…you and your magic…" She slowly knelt to the floor, whimpering, eyes wide open and gazing into the stone floor blankly. Tears came again.

He looked down at the girl, whose golden hair shone no more, before kneeling beside her and wrapped his arms around her like he had always done. Thoughts on how to comfort her came to him, but he didn't know what the right thing to do was. For a moment there was a solitude that belonged to both of them, even light had evaded their bodies, leaving the two to find their own solutions to happiness again.

"Don't touch me." Even in her current state, Lux still managed to play tough. She was convinced that he must have been the one who slaughtered countless innocent Demacians; It was not a conclusion easily made, but a necessary one. After all the torturing thoughts between denying and believing he was the murderer, she chose to _believe, _because she could not live with denying yet being able to imagine Vladimir doing all those horrible things to her people, her family.

Vladimir remained in place, embracing his little lady. Her breathing was weak, and it soon grew rapid as she began hyperventilating, her body shaking, drenched in cold sweat. He saw that she needed water, so he quickly moved her onto a bench before fetching a jar of water for her. Through his enhanced vision he could see how truly fragile she was. The stout, patriot Luxanna Crownguard he knew was a distant memory that he might not find again.

"Drink it slowly." He fed it to her lips.

Lux took the jar and drank. Her mind was bogging and she could only see darkness. The buzzing in her ears decreased with each sip, however, as the familiar ambiance of his temple returned.

Three days she did not sleep nor eat. She couldn't. Rage drove her on as she moved through the forests, so determined on reaching her goal. She didn't seem to care about her own condition - why would she? Her home state was destroyed by dark magic, the only thing she wanted was an answer - and the journey was a self-punishment.

She had failed Demacia as a Crownguard. Failed like she had always feared. Why must she be the one left alone? The people she loved, the people she needed… they all left her when she needed them the most; Garen, Vayne, Jarvan, Regan, Mother and Father…

And Vladimir, too. Even though she found it in her heart, reluctantly, that she forgave him for that.

When she could see again, she opened her eyes to the pools of red staring down at her, tender as they could ever be. Lux hesitated, wanting to push him away, but lingered in his gentleness. She hated herself for missing those red eyes, for missing him. She needed this comfort after what she had been through, no matter how ironic the situation turned out for her.

She touched his face. He didn't move.

"I watched him die in front of me."

"I am sorry for your loss."

Lux shook her head with a helpless smile. Him feeling sorry? She would have been happy to hear so, had the circumstances been different. Now his apology add nothing but bitterness to her weary heart. "Tell me the truth, Vladimir….please. I'm tired of these thoughts."

Vladimir didn't know what truth she wanted to hear from him. He could tell her the whereabouts of her friend Vayne, but he didn't want the girl to go after the creature alone. He… worried for her, the usual silver-tongued devil was not so quick this time.

It wasn't just anyone she'd be dealing with, it was a God trapped in the mortal body of her friend. Giving her the information would be delivering her to death himself, why would he want that? So Vladimir decided to hide the truth from her again, but this time it wasn't for a selfish reason.

"Noxus is…changing." He could only tell her so much. After all, he played only a small part in the Matron's plans, whatever they might be. He knew LeBlanc well, but not well enough to see clear her motives for launching this assault on Demacia.

Lux did not understand. She blinked at him and patiently waited for him to continue.

"Trust me when I say that I did not take a single life that day." He was shaking. Why was he shaking? Vladimir began to feel the changes and abnormal reactions she had stirred in him. He kept on reflecting, imagining that if given the chance, would he have gladly joined the slaughter of her people? Bloodlust often took control of him, but he wouldn't have allowed it to, out of respect for Lux, out of the feelings he hoarded for her.

The declaration set Lux's mind at ease somehow, because she had always trusted him in the bottom of her heart; she just needed to _hear_ him say it. His voice was her clarity.

She pulled him down and let her lips touch his lightly. "Vladimir… I missed you."

He smiled at the light kiss, returning it with a tightening hug as he put the jar away. "I am here."

"I should go… too much happened recently, I need to…think, alone." Even saying so, Lux held him close and enjoyed the company.

"At least have something to eat before that." Vladimir grinned and pulled away, heading to one of the wooden doors in the back.

The hunger finally caught up to her as she swallowed at his mention of food. She knew her state needed her right now, but she wanted to rest for a while. Her eyes fluttered for moment before shutting, and she was asleep without knowing it.

* * *

><p>When she woke, it was dark outside again. She hurried up from the bench and searched for Vladimir in the candle-lit hall, but he wasn't around. There was a small table set up in front of her with a few dishes prepared and a glass of wine. She sat back down to eat; the food had just enough warmth left in it to bring out its succulent taste. A part of her was surprised because she never thought of Vladimir as a sufficient cook, then again years of living alone in this wilderness must have taught him a trick or two, unlike her wealthy life in the Crownguard residence.<p>

Lux was half way done with her food when Vladimir returned. He didn't bother to start a conversation, seeing her hungrily biting away at his dish, so he stood and watched her quietly with a smirk.

Lux kept her eyes on the remaining pieces as she chewed, feeling awkward being watched by him. She looked to him after finally swallowing her food. "It's rude to watch someone eat, you know."

"How is that rude?" He tilted his head playfully.

"It's just… it's just is, Vladimir. It makes me feel awkward."

"Then it must be your problem, not mine that you feel awkward." He laughed as he saw her pouting, he knew she couldn't win the argument. "By all means, please continue."

She shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm full. I…" She blushed suddenly, hiding a lock of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "I was hoping that maybe I can take a shower somewhere?"

Vladimir's response offended her quite a bit, if anything. He began chuckling and Lux could tell from the look on his face that she was in for another of his tricks. "Mm, there is a stream outside, which is where I usually clean myself."

It wasn't the best choice, but it was the only one available to her at the moment, so Lux asked him to show her the way. "It's…safe, right?" She was unsure about the idea, having grown used to showerheads and marble tubs.

Another chuckle from him. "You get leeches from time to time swarming in it, but for the most part… yes, it is safe." The horrified look on her face pleased him, but he nudged her towards the stream anyway. "It's the temperature you really need to get used to, Lux."

She stood by the bank and looked at the shimmering surface under moonlight. With a sigh, she made her decision and turned back to face him. "I guess I have to."

There was a moment of silence between them as neither moved. Lux grew hesitant as she played with the edge of her skirt. "V-Vladimir, I'm going to change…?" She lifted her eyebrows, hoping he'd back away.

Taking her hint, he grinned and turned around. "I'd wait for you at the temple if that's what you wish, but hmm… I think wolves would be attracted by the smell of dinner on you."

"Vladimir, I can defend myself just fine without your help." She retorted half-heartedly. Being alone and naked in the forest at night was certainly not an amusing idea to her, especially with her light magic at its weakest. Even so, she refused to have his presence whilst she bathe.

"Very well then." Vladimir began walking away. "I'll come back again to bring you the towels."

Lux only began undressing when she made sure he was out of sight. Piece by piece she removed her garments until she was naked before stepping into the stream. She squeaked when the coolness of the stream enveloped her legs - Vladimir was right, the temperature was something she needed to deal with - but dipped herself into the water slowly anyway. She must clean herself or she would die from her own stench of blood and sweat.

The pebbles at the bottom of the stream gave her feet some nice massage as she walked on them. The water level coming close to her mouth made her tip-toe from time to time; she didn't think it'll be this deep. Thankfully she was born Demacian, water was a friend of hers since youth. She used to go to the beach with Garen and Jarvan on weekends and the three of them would play around and swim the entire day.

It was always Lux and Garen making cover for Jarvan to sneak out of court, then the three of them losing track of time and end up getting caught in their swimsuits. There were no regrets, however, they bonded like a triangle, the "Tri-Force," and they were young and fearless.

Lux could almost say that a main reason why she had been undoubtedly loyal to Demacia was for her love towards her brother and Jarvan. The time spent in the military only casted a false belief above the truth that she loved Demacia _because_ she loved her family and friends.

Her thoughts began to form tidy strings as she cleaned herself. She enjoyed this feeling, she wouldn't have this clarity anywhere else. It's funny how only around Vladimir she found her mind at peace, no matter how chaotic it must had been.

She turned and saw Vladimir heading towards her with the towels he promised. Quickly swimming close to the bank, she reached the edge just in time so he couldn't see her body through water.

"Thank you." She said with a small blush on her cheeks as he laid the towel on the side.

He smiled and said nothing before turning his back on her and sitting down. He summoned his essence as it appeared with an eerie red aura in the darkness and played with it casually.

Lux flustered little when he sat down. "I told you I'm fine on my own, Vladimir!"

"The temple is quite lonely, I'd rather stay here and keep you company." He teased and watched amusingly as the essence wandered around.

Lux grumbled and carefully swam away from the bank, putting some distance between them before submerging. She would not give him the chance to peek. _Hmph, he wishes._

Surrounded by water again, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the nostalgia. When was the last time she swam? It must had been a while. With league keeping her busy she rarely get the chance to have fun anymore, and even if she was free, there was no one to have fun with. Vayne was a good friend, but the Night Hunter had her duties to attend to; Garen… Lux doesn't bother asking him anymore. Other friends were in distant cities that a short hang-out just won't work. Sometimes she likes to think whether it was them who changed the world, or the world that had changed them.

The water around her stirred suddenly as she felt something dive into it. In less than a second she felt a pair of arms around her as she was lifted to the surface. She reacted with struggles and squirms and opened her eyes in panic.

"Vladimir? What are you doing!" She looked at him angrily and punched his arm, "Let me go!"

He obeyed and loosened his grip. Lux calmed down and saw the expression on his face; he was relieved, although his eyes were still wide from shock. "I thought you had drowned."

"I'm a Demacian, Vladimir. Drowning is the worst death and humiliation." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm okay… you scared me right there."

Lux was confused by his action, but as she came to her senses, she was happy that he showed her he cared. "What got into you?"

Vladimir didn't reply. The early impulse and adrenaline rush was still fresh in his veins; he had no idea what took over him the moment he saw her body beneath water, her hair flowing with the current…

The girl. He remembered the girl he had murdered, right here in this stream. In the short period after he had murdered her he had a vision of Lux lying at the bottom of the stream, lifeless and pale, and he couldn't bear the vision. If she were dead…

Vladimir casted the thought away and put on a faint smile. "It does not matter." His eyes wandered around her form and finally landed on her lips. Lux quickly backed away, having mistook his gaze as one directed at her breasts. "V-Vladimir!"

"You have a beautiful body." He complimented, "One of the finer ones I've seen."

She blushed, happy and embarrassed at the same time. "Thanks…" Being compared to other women he might have been with made her slightly uncomfortable, but it wasn't like she didn't expect him to make that analogy. "Can you go so I can finish cleaning now?"

Vladimir nodded and kissed her on her forehead out of pure admiration before leaving. His coat and cloak was drenched, but he didn't care. Something in him felt reassured that Lux was safe, something he still couldn't name even after all this time.

Perhaps _Love_ was the word, and he was just afraid to use it.

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><p><strong>AN Sorry for the long wait guys! I hope you liked this chapter, and the next one will be up shortly ;)**


	21. Doppelganger

_When you look into the mirror, what do you see?_

* * *

><p>A week after the attack in Demacia, King Jarvan III requested hearing with the summoner's council in the Institute, stating that this Noxian invasion "Will not be tolerated by Demacian people." The meeting took place in the Amethyst Chamber of the Institute where past conflicts between city states had been resolved in peace.<p>

However, the atmosphere inside the renowned hall of peace was tense. On one side, you have the Demacian nobles and Jarvan IV; on the other, you have Grand General Swain and his men. Both sides played their cards carefully, planning to stay always one step ahead of their opponent.

Both sides wanted the Institute to favor their individual cause, but neither openly stated their intentions. The case was a pain for the council as they had no better idea towards resolving this matter; hatred and conflict ran deep in the lineage of Demacian and Noxians - That is something not even the League could change.

Once there were arguments that had successfully been promoted to passionate even hostile debates, Swain knocked his cane against the floor twice and began:

"I can assure you the assault had nothing to do with the High Command, Prince Jarvan." Swain's calm demeanor effectively put the situation under control as the quarrels ceased. His presence was magnetic, a true politician. Beatrice pecked on his shoulder piece gently between sentences, its red jewels observed people in the room, listening, as if the bird understood human tongue.

"Bodies of _**your**_ soldier, wearing _**the **_Noxian crest, were found in _**my**_ city. And yet you deny the High Command played a part in this?"Jarvan raged at Swain, his fists clenching on top of the table. The prince had wanted the council to favor his plea, but so far his efforts had not paid off quite yet.

"There have been reports of the… suspicious nature of this invasion, Prince Jarvan. With all due respect, you mustn't rule out the possibility that these soldiers were Living Deads, simply wearing the collected crest of our military."

"Absurd! Blatant lies!" There were flames in Jarvan's eyes, the nobles had never seen their Prince this angry before. "Council, he's only trying to come up with a petty excuse of an alibi!"

The summoners were dumbfounded by the new situation and the possibility Swain had brought up. Vessaria Kolminye, one of the higher ranked, turned to Jarvan as she wrote down some notes in the meeting minutes.

"Prince Jarvan, may I ask why you believe that the Noxian High Command is behind this attack?" One could tell from her eyes that she was half way convinced to judge Noxus guilty, but she needed more than evidences and testimonials; Her tie to the Noxians made it inconvenient such that if Jarvan failed to remain calm and rational and somehow win the appeal of the rest of the Council, she would have to let it slip.

"Isn't this obvious? They want to take advantage of the unstable political climate of Valoran and begin another round of Noxian conquests!"

_No, Jarvan._ Vessaria sighed. _That was not the response you needed._

"The era of Noxian crusade had ceased with the death of our late Grand General Darkwill, who, if I may kindly remind you, was assassinated during a secret mission." Swain's eyes narrowed at Jarvan. Everyone in the room knew the meaning behind his words. There was no doubt that the League, along with a majority of Noxians, suspected that Demacia had something to do with Darkwill's death. "When the contract of the Ionian Southern Isles finally expires, Noxus will no longer possess foreign lands, nor do we wish to acquire any before that."

"The Noxian High Command only wishes to make peace with its neighbors, Prince Jarvan. Perhaps our past conflicts have clouded your judgement." Swain leaned back in his chair and waited for his opponent to respond.

Jarvan kept his glare on the Grand General, not letting a single meek look slip through. "You've said a lot, Swain. But you've never addressed whether these… Living Dead soldiers were your doing or not."

There was a subtle smile behind Swain's masked face. "I can assure you that they are not my doing, nor any Noxian's doing."

"But you do know who did it, I know you do. Don't lie to my face, swine."

Swain laughed, "My dear Prince, how would I know who did it? I've already said that the High Command was no part of this assult. What had happened was not my, nor the High Command's responsibility at all, but we came here today nonetheless, because we are willing to seek ways to compensate for your loss. Is this not enough proof for Noxian hospitality?"

Although many Noxians chuckled at Swain's mention of hospitality, the speech had won approval of a majority of summoners. Those who were inexperienced in the playground of Noxian politics and those who still possessed the innocent ear voluntarily let Swain's reasoning sweep them off their grounds. Many casted a vote on remaining neutral on the matter, which of course, had enraged the Demacians. At the end of the day they had arrived at a truce with partial compensations from the High Command, but the amount was not even enough to pay off the pensions of Demacian families. Everyone went back to their own city when the meeting was adjourned.

It was considered an enormous victory for the Noxians. Old king Jarvan III had to ask his son, "You used to reason so well, and handled similar affairs with elegance… what happened to you, my son? How could you let Noxus slip away like this?"

Jarvan did not return his father's gaze, "I promise you, father, I will make the High Command pay for what they've done."

"So much vengeance… sometimes I wonder if the capture had changed you." His father shook his head with a sigh before retreating to his room, leaving Jarvan alone in the moonlit hall of their palace.

Jarvan took a turn at the end of the hall to arrive at his room and secured the door behind him. He looked around and made sure no one was following him before taking off his armor. When he finished, he muttered something quietly as purple mist surrounded him, emitting its magical powers. As it dispersed, it was no longer Jarvan standing in the room; it was the trickster, the Matron. Evaine LeBlanc.

The transformation was something she still hadn't gotten used to. After massaging her stressed muscles for a bit, she glanced at the window pane, finding Beatrice waiting patiently for her to open the window and let it in.

"My precious." She smiled and kissed its dark feathers, "Tell my love that the Black Rose will bloom sooner than he would expect."

The bird leaned into her touch for a while before taking off and disappearing into the night.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is the right way?"<p>

"Trust me. I got'em good sniffing. Been around 'ere long enough."

"Why haven't you tried to get out before then?"

"I got used to the food. Good treatin' and spares me from the slumhole." The man turned back and grinned, the hollow spaces between his teeth showing.

"Where I came from, we call this dog food."

The two progressed in the dark tunnel slowly and cautiously. This was an escape plan, a daring one, too. After long months of solitary in prison, the true Prince of Demacia, Jarvan IV, finally saw the opportunity to escape from the hellish tower of the High Command. He had no idea of what was going on in the outside world, he only knew that his home was being attacked by Noxians. This recent event had enraged him, and his anger had bought him several bruises from the guards.

The desire to escape had always been there, but Jarvan was just too defeated to carry them out. The Tower was well-secured, too… well, or so he thought before he met his fellow prisoner. When he was captured, orders from the late Grand General were to "make sure Prince Jarvan enjoys his solitary with close observations." As Darkwill passed away however, the loosened monitoring on his condition began to show. Sometimes his guards would disappear for hours - had it not been the iron bars he would have gotten out sooner - and return with their bellies satisfied, ignoring the growling of Jarvan's own. As much as he despised Swain, he often wondered if the new general had been too easy on him. Perhaps he was simply forgotten.

The thought terrified him. He could understand if Swain and the other had forgotten about their Demacian prisoner, the problem was that he was_ the Prince_. How could the citizen of Demacia forget about him? How could his father, the King, not bring his son's disappearance to question?

Does him being trapped in this damned tower for months mean nothing to them? Does his pain and suffering affect them at all?

He could only come up with one and most dreadful answer, and that was Swain had used a doppelganger, with whatever dark magic the man could pull out.

Of course, why wouldn't he? The doppelganger would have taken his place in the court, lied to his father and his people… negotiated whatever ridiculous treaties with Noxus and other city-states. Masquerading as him like a viper. Jarvan clinched his fists. He would send that snake to the noose himself.

"If ya truly are the Prince of Demacia… I'd like to ask ya somethin' in return for this favor." His guide spoke suddenly.

"Oh? Speak your thoughts." Jarvan was intrigued.

"Ya see… livin' in Noxus do my bones no bad, I cross with them gangs at times but nothin' ever got the best of me." The man turned around in the dark tunnel and grinned at Jarvan. "Noxus ain't what it used to be, and I'd love to try life in 'Macia."

"You want me to forge papers for you to sneak over?"

"Tha's correct."

Jarvan frowned. The action was against his patriotism, but at the bottom of his heart, he felt in debt and wanted to compensate the man.

"Is there possibly anything else that I could offer?"

The man shook his head.

After a moment of poundering, Jarvan nodded, "It shall be done, then." hoping the promise would motivate the man forward. "How much longer must we venture?"

Delighted by the deal, the man picked up his pace and gestured Jarvan to follow.

"Won't be too long now, Prince."

Soon a streak of light came into their view, immediately followed by an opening. As he came out of the cave, Jarvan looked at the distant city; the dark skeletal mountain was staring back at him with its fiery eyes, as if vowing to have him back as its captive someday.

He left the man after getting his name, and did not look back again.


	22. Deserts and Oceans

_"A drop in the ocean,  
>A change in the weather,<br>I was prayin' that you and me might end up together;  
>It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,<br>But I'm holding you closer than most  
>Cause you are my heaven."<em>

_- "A Drop In The Ocean" by Ron Pope_

Lux did not stay at Vladimir's place for the night. Deep inside, she was still upset and angry for what had been done to her country and family. She believed him, however, that he was not the one.

_Who was it then? _She asked herself often. It couldn't have been any Demacian, it would most likely be Noxians… but the only Noxian she knew who was capable of blood magic was Vladimir.

On her way home, she intercepted a night carriage that would be passing by Demacia on its journey. She was happy, it would save her much time and provide comfort. It was an awfully lonely trip, though; beside her, there were only the driver and another merchant. She tried to initiate conversations, but neither of them seemed to be interested in who she was and what she had to say. It was getting late, however, so she forgave them for not socializing.

When they were fifty miles away from Demacian boarder, Lux felt the carriage halt abruptly and quickly readied her baton. She made no sound as she waited calmly for the driver to inspect the situation.

"What is thi-"

She got off the cart immediately when she saw a purple aura closing in on the carriage. The two horses panicked and reared. She tried to dispel the aura with her magic, but it did not work. After both travelers had vanished into nothingness when the edge of the aura touched them, she began to worry.

When the aura touched her at last, she felt as if the world had turned upside-down as she fell onto her bottom, her head spinning, feeling nauseous. She blinked, her surrounding had changed; she knew this place, she was here once before. The murky skies and ever-glowing horizon… The Void. Icathia. She was here again.

_How is this possible? _She pushed herself off the ground and tried to stand up, but her knees were still weak from disorientation. She looked across the realm and found that, not far away, were the broken bodies of her fellow travelers. She looked away and sighed. A ripping in dimension would sometimes cause the affected to be torn apart; she had read many horrifying stories about such occurrence.

"Unlucky ones, they are." A haunting voice came. Lux turned to the speaker and frowned.

"Malzahar… what is this? Are you doing this on purpose?"

"You know well… Lady of Luminosity. Portals that lead to this place open on a daily basis… It is merely Icathia's calling. Have you reconsidered my offer yet?" The Prophet was floating a few meters away, the ever-present void essence surrounded him and his pet.

"I do not want to join the Void! Now would you show me how to get out?" With her best efforts, she tried to stand up again, but only managed to get on her knees. _I feel so sick… _She was very vulnerable at the moment, but it wasn't in her best interest to let Malzahar know that.

"You shall not get out." The Prophet laughed as his eyes narrowed, "Don't you see? You are bound to _die…. _By the hands of your lover. Turning your face away from fate does not make it go away…"

Lux's eyes widened, she remembered the illusion she had seen of Vladimir tearing her heart out. She had doubted the Prophet then, and she still did. _Who was he to play fortune-teller?_

_But it was so real…_

Metal claws that melded with her flesh, crashing the tissues with its sharp edge… Malzahar's words forced her to relive the scene, and it sent shivers down her spine. She did not deny that she loved Vladimir this time.

"False prophecy… It was merely an illusion, don't play that game with me."

"…Still you don't see, well…"

"What is there to see? He would never-"

_Would he?_

She paused mid-sentence, suddenly unsure of the statement. Yes, she cared for him, and yes, she cried when she thought he had betrayed her trust. But did he feel the same?... The kisses, the embraces, the tease, _everything. _Everything that he gave to her had been able to fill her heart with joy, but…

He had never spoken once about how he felt about her, and that she couldn't understand. It felt as if they were playing a dangerous game; the excitement lured her in, made her hope for the grand prize, but now she couldn't even back out. Uncertainty was eating away her thoughts. She only wanted _some kind of _reassurance. She wanted to know that he was hers, and he wasn't just… playing with her.

Lux shook her head, refusing to think more. "He would never hurt me." She finished, half-heartedly.

"Of course it is all false… you'd be heartbroken if that had happened…A mortal game you play to lose…" Malzahar approached her, something was telling her that he meant no good.

"…Let me spare you from that by overruling my own prophecy."

She had no time to scream as Nether Grasp cut off her windpipe like an invisible hand. Her baton dropped to the ground, her hands were at her throat trying to pull away the tightening pressure. She kicked and flailed, Lord knows where she had gathered the strength to do so. The will to survive kept her fighting; she would not go down so easily.

"You shall be a good sacrifice for the Void." Malzahar's face was determined.

"Let the girl go, Malzahar!"

Lux saw a projectile flying towards the Prophet, hitting him, and the pressure around her throat was gone. She fell to the ground and coughed, didn't get a glance at her rescuer.

Her neck burned from the grasp. She tried to make a sound but it only brought her pain; she feared that her windpipe had been crushed. Soon enough, the rescuer engaged in a battle with Malzahar. Void essence was filling the air around her, she could tell who he was now.

_Kassadin. _She looked at the two, seeing Kassadin teleporting around and shattering Malzahar's voidlings with his Nether Blade. Lux wanted to help, she grabbed her baton, but casting a magic now would require the focus and stamina she did not possess. She opened her mouth, no words came out. All she could do was pull herself away from the two to safety.

"You will not take another innocent life." Kassadin's blade cut through the ethereal screen and caught Malzahar's mask in the process, the fabric fell apart as his face was revealed.

"I serve a greater purpose… your lives are worthless compared to what I will achieve."

"I will seal the portal!" Kassadin turned to Lux, "Get out, now!"

She nodded and scouted the terrain, there was an opening nearby, if she could just get up and run she could reach it in time. Her legs were still shaking, but she felt ready.

And just like that, she raced for the rift, even though her legs felt as if they were sinking into the ground beneath her with each step, pulled down by quick sand that intended to trap her here forever. _So close…_She could see the night sky and the trees from the world she knew, _Come on, you can do it._

The rift shrank rapidly as Lux went through and landed safely on the road. She felt the same sickness, but she was fine. She pulled herself up. _Home. I want to go home._

Even if it's ruins that she'd be returning to, she would still keep moving. She was sick of not belonging, sick of being a gypsy. Pain had tamed her rebellious spirit, _It's time to go home._

She didn't know how far she travelled before she fell, her body finally giving up. The night was quiet as wind caressed her pale cheeks.

* * *

><p>She couldn't recall how exactly she got back to Demacia, but waking up to the evening sun on the second day in her own bed was such an amazing feeling, she could afford to let the painful memories go.<p>

She rubbed her eyes and swung to the side as she placed her feet on the floor, the bottom of her feet felt funny. Looking down, she saw the care on them: linen bandages soaked in some kind of balm. She must have gotten blisters, the thought of it made her feet hurt again.

She took careful steps to the bathroom and cleaned herself. Her room was exactly the same as how she left it before Piltover; the paper cranes and roses were still on her table, embraced by sunshine.

_The Necklace! _Lux remembered suddenly and reached for her dirty clothes. When the jewel revealed itself she sighed in relief, she would not forgive herself if she lost it again. The gem shone under the sun, reflecting its sapphire brilliance onto the bedroom ceiling. She smiled and put it back where it rested on her bookshelf.

She looked out of the window and saw the streets and people of Demacia. The city was recovering from the damage. The pavement in front of Crownguard manor still a faint red from all the bloodshed that day. She turned away and sighed.

"Lux?" Garen's voice came as he knocked on the door.

"A….." She panicked. _What's happening? I can't speak… _She tried again, but all that came out was a dry "A" sound, and her throat began to hurt.

"Lux? I'm coming in." Garen walked in and closed the door behind him gently. He wasn't wearing the soldier's uniform today, surprisingly. "I thought you'd still be sleeping. How are your feet?"

"A….k….enn" She looked to him helplessly. _I can't talk…_ Malzahar had wounded her throat badly, it seemed. _What am I going to do?_

She pointed at her neck and shook her head at Garen. "Can't…talk? Is it a bad cold?" Garen was awfully caring today, it was awkward for Lux but secretly she was happy that her brother still cared about her. She shook her head.

Being a bad mime, she grabbed a quill and paper and wrote: _I was attacked by Malzahar._

Garen took the paper as his expression darkened. "Nether Grasp…" He murmured, "It is deadly enough in the fields of justice, having to endure it outside…" For Garen, he expected that his sister had gone through hell, and her throat problem wasn't going to get better on its own. "I found you on the side of the road after Kassadin informed me what happened."

Lux stared at him, dazed for a second. Soon she began to remember Garen picking her up and carrying her home. Just like he would carry her exhausted body home after training when they were younger. Heavy footsteps, but he never complained.

Garen had always been there for her, watching over her, although most of the time she dismissed his care as being nosy. He scolded her, yes, but it was because he cared about her. She was too busy crying over her own emotions to see that even when mother and father had given up on her, Garen never did; he took up the role of her parents and he _tried_.

"Lux…" Garen began and took her hand gently; the action stirred her as her blue eyes widened at him, it felt like as if he just read her mind. "I have been… harsh on you, I know. I want you to know that it wasn't… no, I want you to know that I was doing so because…"

He began to stutter, losing words to describe how he felt. "Lux I _am_ your brother. I know you've always felt as if mother and father both have their high hopes on me, but truth is, they care about you far more than they do me. And as your brother, I want you to know that I do care for you. Have you any idea how worried I was when I come home and realize you've disappeared? Sometimes for a day?"

She lowered her head and nodded. This was a hard talk, but a necessary one she understood. Garen had never been so open about his feelings before, and now she finally got to see her brother beneath his skin.

"You were born an adventurous soul, Lux. I know I shouldn't see you as a fragile little sister but I can't help but do so. Everytime you wander off somewhere, you'd come back with scars here and there, and I don't wish that upon you."

She lifted her head and blinked at him, a sad little smile around her lips as she squeezed his hand. _I know… I'm sorry, I'm really careless, and selfish. _It would have been hard to say those words, therefore she appreciated the temporary – hopefully – mute condition.

"I know I should stop treating you like a child. Forgive me, sister, but you must understand, and I thank you for that." He pulled at her cheek gently as she pouted, which made him chuckle. "We need to find Soraka and have her heal your wound."

_Soraka? _Lux raised her brow. _But that's…Ionia, that's days of travel!_

"I'll ask the Institute for permission for her to come here, meanwhile stay home and rest. _Please."_ He gave her a smile before taking off.

After Garen left, Lux buried her head into her pillow again, breathing in the soft cotton.

_Vladimir._

She closed her eyes and held her pillow tightly. If she imagined hard enough, she could feel his presence; a bit lunatic, sure, but she had never needed him as much as now. Something unfortunate always seemed to happen to her because of him, indirectly: Vayne's disappearance; sent to Piltover, came back to a ruined Demacia; Malzahar… all of these could have been avoided, couldn't they?

_No. What has happened cannot be changed. _She must see it through, so that she and him might have a future.

What holds for their future? She questioned herself everyday. Would Garen let her just run off with a Noxian? Would mother and father?

_Ugh! Stop thinking! You're hurting your head again. _She rolled to her side. All she could do now was to wait patiently for some medical attention. But she couldn't help continuing her little fantasy of catching a glance of Vladimir's red coat someday, some morning, as she send her wobbling body down the stairs, and into his arms.


	23. Do You Still Believe

"_Hey, brother.  
>Do you still believe in one another?<br>Hey, sister.  
>Do you still believe in love, I wonder?<em>

_Ooooooh, if the sky comes falling down.  
>For you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."<em>

_- "Hey Brother" by Avicii_

Heat has finally struck down the last of the chill of Northern spirits as Valoran embraced a new season of fishing, beach parties, and celebrations. In Demacia, parasols with blue and white strips bloomed in the city, outside the shops; one by one they created circles of shades for lovers and families that perched beneath, safe from the blaze of a summer sun.

Silently the feeling came, and silently it left. Lux has been recovering from the void incident with the help of her family and Soraka, but whenever she tried to speak, there would be a tickle in her vocal chords, and then no more. When she finished her daily therapy, she would often wonder if this is how Sona, the Maven, felt all the time; Words that tickled, but refused to let out a laugh, a giggle, anything at all. These days all she had was her smile to brighten up those around her. _They must be happy now, the people who complained about my voice and laugh, _Sometimes she would think to herself bitterly. _What an annoying laugh you have, Crownguard. Can't you shut up? _

She hadn't participated in League for about a week now. Thankfully however, her pay will be sapped from Malzahar's. The League had decided the Prophet would be fully responsible for her condition, and so the according penalty will be Malzahar's alone. Lux doubted the Prophet would care for such insignificant loss; after all, you don't need gold in Icathia, you _won't _need it after the void has taken Valoran either.

The entire experience was still a blur to her, but nonetheless real. Garen had taken a different attitude towards her ever since, he was more patient and caring for her, which Lux did not expect but appreciated anyway. She knew her brother was really just like her, burdened by the weight of honor their name carried and hid away who they really were. _I guess something does run in the family, _Lux smiled to herself and finished up her paper craft to join the family dinner.

She opened her door and her mouth opened in a silent "O." A hooded man stood in the hallway and gazed at her. She could smell the reek of death and sewers on him, immediately she shut the door and locked it as she searched for her baton.

A few seconds later, she heard gentle knocks. "Lux," A familiar voice called, "Please open the door. It's Jarvan."

_J-Jarvan? _She was confused. _Why is he here and what's with the smell and the hood?_

"Please, Lux. Before anyone else sees me."

Cautiously she unlocked the door and let him in as she backed away from him. The light from her baton illuminated his face; had she not known Jarvan since youth, she wouldn't have recognized this man with long and dirty dark hair and beard that casted a shadow down his neck. He pulled off the hood and stared at her with weary eyes, appearing much older than he actually was. "Lux… it's…it's so good to see you again." Lux swore she saw tears in his eyes, but she was too in shock to establish that detail. "I couldn't risk finding Garen, he's been in and out in the court too much… so I took the short cut through the servant's quarters during break hours."

Lux nodded slowly and approached him. She opened her mouth and closed it again before grabbing her writing pad. "_I'm in recovery, I can't talk. I don't understand?" _ To emphasize she made the last question mark larger than the rest. Jarvan looked to the pad and back at her with solemn eyes. "You all have been lied to and deceived. The Prince you thought escaped Noxian imprisonment… wasn't me." He took a short pause to let the fact sink in to Lux, then, he began slowly, "I am the real Jarvan….and I have finally escaped after…I don't know how long. A dark clone of mine was sent back here in my place, and I believe he lingers. We have to stop him before he gets word from Noxus and flees!"

Lux watched his face contort in a mix of emotions. This was the real Jarvan, the Jarvan she grew up with. This wasn't the Jarvan that blindly started a war and acted indifferent to her. She carefully wrote down "_You need to stay hidden, when Garen comes back we will figure something out and catch the impersonator."_

"I don't know what to say, Lux. Thank you. I knew I could count on you."

Jarvan lifted his hand, he wanted to touch her cheek, but stopped himself as he saw the mud and dirt on his fingers. Lux noticed his gesture and hurried him to her bathroom, she pointed him where fresh towels were kept and smiled at him as she nodded. Jarvan muttered another thanks before closing the bathroom door.

Lux waited patiently and pondered. Now everything made some sense to her. Jarvan's change in character after the capture and his actions in League, the War… pieces of information that bothered her were important after all. His frenzy about wild hunts? Even Garen agreed with her that it was not something Jarvan would do, and even if he did enjoy hunting, the enthusiasm did not strike them as normal. Jarvan was practically _obsessed_ with the wilds, as if he was convinced and determined to find _something._ A lot of Demacian soldiers also gave their lives during the expedition, surviving ones simply refused to speak of what had happened.

The water stopped running and soon Jarvan emerged from the shower. He put on his dirty clothes again, to which Lux felt embarrassed that she forgot to find him new clothes to wear. "_I will be right back, Garen might have some clothes you can wear." _She wrote on the pad and left it with Jarvan as she secured the door. Searching through Garen's wardrobe was an odd experience for her, but she believed her brother would understand her little friendly intrusion. It was to help out both of their friend, after all.

When she came back, she saw Jarvan flipping through the notepad for the things she had written in the past week. A slight blush appeared on her face as she remembered she might have doodled something for Vladimir on it. Jarvan noticed her and placed the pad down quickly, "I'm sorry, I was curious." He took the clothes from her and thanked her again.

As he changed before her, he began telling her about the torture and imprisonment. "Some days I just wanted it to end, but then I thought of you, and Garen, and all of Demacia. I couldn't give up, there is so much I must come back to and make right again." He scratched the bush of beard beneath his chin and continued, "Tell me Lux, what did the clone do while I was away?"

So Lux gave him an entire page of words and descriptions, among them a line or two of her own feelings about the situation. After reading, Jarvan sighed and stared at her determined. "We must end this. Whatever that clone did in the wilds, it was not good news. If the soldiers refuse to talk, we must find out some other way. I…" He looked down, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to defend Demacia during the slaughter. I will make Noxus pay for this."

Lux bit her lip as she wrote down, hesitating, "_I wasn't here, either."_

Jarvan wanted to ask more, but he decided to wait, right now there are more pressing matters. "Something is in the planning… I know it. It has something to do with Swain… and that bird of his. If it's Demacia that he wanted, he could have captured the city a long time ago with his clone Prince…. But no, he is still waiting for something… Darkwill's assassination…. Swain's ascension… I can't piece it together yet."

Lux listened and tried her best to keep up with his thoughts. Her eyes widened as she remembered something. "_Vayne hasn't been back, not in League either. She just disappeared." _The memories of her friend made Lux upset again.

"Shauna Vayne, the Night Hunter? I thought I saw her on my way wandering through the forests… my memories might have been false, it was a long and tiring journey. If it is true then… taking out the vigilante of Demacia is perfect for perpetrators. We would have suffered less casualties if she was here…"

After a long silence, Jarvan fisted his hands and frowned. "Damn it, I don't understand. Something is missing." He closed his eyes in defeat.

"_We can find out more once we've captured the impostor." _She jotted down on the pad and showed it to Jarvan as she put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

Jarvan looked to her and smiled faintly, "You're right." He took her hand and held it in his briefly before letting it go. "I still feel like this is all a dream, and when I wake up I would be back at that cold cell again."

"_Don't worry" _She wrote, "_Welcome home, Prince Jarvan."_

* * *

><p>It rained for a while near the Tempest Flats that evening. When Vladimir stepped outside his residence he could smell in the humid air a mix of grass and rain. After Lux left, Vladimir felt the growing itch of bloodlust inside him, and it was beyond his control. He simply needed to <em>kill<em>. He didn't know why he hasn't been killing, perhaps the luminous girl's presence was helping. Now that she's gone again, his inner demon craved release.

Funny. He never paused to wonder about the relationship between them. Well, he thought he had never, but he could count the times she had been on his mind when he should be lost in the thrill of killing. It was as if she served as a moral compass, a broken one. When she points him to the North, he would try convincing himself it was the South. He didn't know just how long would he last in this journey with her, it seemed the longer he held on, the harder to let her go.

"Curse you." His words came out softly, without menace.

_Oh yes. The little witch placing her spell on you again. It is a shame to see you fall to influences so easily, Vladimir._

"Why are you still here? I am surprised that I haven't spent all of you as my battling resource." Dmitri was as pestering as ever, but Vladimir grew used to his whispers.

_You and I are one. _The ghost inside him spoke, _Dear apprentice, you should be studying with the Ancient One instead of loitering with meaningless thoughts._

His words made Vladimir shiver. Vladimir remembered the unimaginable power within the Creature's blood he once held so briefly. He would do anything to feel it again.

_Yes…crave it. Seek it. Call to it. The Ancient One will commune with you._

Vladimir knew that he should back off with these thoughts before anything happens, but it was too late. His desire had transformed into a calling, a language in pulses and crimson shades, and he knew _It_ heard him.

In the distance he spotted wolves running towards him, shadows in the forest approaching, many of them. When they reached the edge of the forest, Vladimir counted five wolves and a dozen of critters making their way to him. All of them stared at him dead in the eyes, almost zombie-like, and their body was very stiff, as if they were under compulsion.

And then the incredible happened.

Vladimir had his eyes on a pure white rabbit. At first he thought its eyes were shimmering, but soon enough he found out there were blood swimming beneath its eyelids. One drop fell and stained its white fur, then another, and another. The rest of the animals began to bleed from the pores on their skin, thick blood wetted their fur and soon the weight brought them down. One by one they bled out right in front of him, forming a circle of blood that seemed to have a life of its own.

_Astonishing. _Dmitri admired and witnessed the event through Vladimir's eyes.

The pool of blood built up beneath the bodies of the animals and reached out to Vladimir's boots. He watched all of this in awe, but he did not move. He could taste the magic in the air, it smelled ancient like it once did in that cave. Soon the pool shrank and grew upward in millions of small vessels, building a familiar outline of Vayne's figure. It grew rapidly and now almost reached Vladimir's height; muscles and bones miraculously came to being as the rest of the figure manifest.

"Your call was desperate, Reaper." A hole in the blood elemental's face spoke. It soon shaped into Vayne's mouth with the out of character grin. The transformation had completed, and before Vladimir stood the possessed Vayne.

"Keeper, it was only a thought." He lied. Even as she stood there he knew all he wanted was to have that power for himself.

"You seek knowledge of Hemomancy, as all other Reapers do. It is nature, it is destined." Vayne looked down at the circle of dead animals around her before kneeling down and whispering words into the earth. Blood seeped through the dirt at her spell and flowed back into the bodies in a gentle transfusion. "This world is full of life and vigor. Look beneath the surface and you will see the blood of Valoran; the very fuel of all life I have been appointed to protect." She stood back up as the animals rose one by one, now exiting their fugue state and appear frightened, as they backed and scattered away from the two. "Sometimes, sacrifices must be made to ensure the balance of all life."

Vladimir had never imagined resurrection through blood magic. The best he had ever done was re-animating dead bodies, but never bringing them back to life. He had never intended to bring anything back to life either, because it would defeat the purpose of killing. "It is amusing seeing you give life just as easy as you take it away." He smiled.

"There is no wisdom in mindless slaughter. I preserve the balance in Valoran, and I shall not stand idly by and watch you destroy yourselves." Vayne frowned. For one second Vladimir thought the Night Hunter broke free of the Keeper's spell, but soon he realized it was merely a familiar expression of hers he had recognized.

"Do elaborate, Keeper. How exactly are we 'destroying ourselves'?"

_You do not ask question here, foolish apprentice. _Dmitri was admiring the creature, too. Vladimir felt the power of his master over him increase whenever the Keeper was around. _You are unable to comprehend the ability of the Keeper._

"Look around you and you will understand, Reaper. Look into the souls of the animals, the earth, then look into the souls of humans. The taint is embedded deep in every single one of them, even yourself." Vayne narrowed her eyes at Vladimir.

"Come hunting with me, Reaper, and I shall show you."

Vladimir hesitated, but agreed to follow as he glanced back at his home for one last time.


End file.
